


The boomerang that didn't come back

by Juniperboy



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Avatar & Benders Setting, Angst, Banishment, Bisexual Sokka (Avatar), F/F, Fire Nation (Avatar), Fire Nation Sokka, Fluff, Gay Zuko (Avatar), Iroh is a dad, Kidnapping, Lesbian Ty Lee, Love, M/M, Romance, Sokka (Avatar) Needs a Hug, Sokka (Avatar)-centric, Trauma, Ty Lee / Mai, Ty Lee / Suki, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck, bi mai, bi sokka, dad!iroh, fire nation! sokka, mai lee - Freeform, mai lee happens later on, suki/katara, ty lee/suki, zukka - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-02
Updated: 2020-09-03
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:53:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 43,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25028041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Juniperboy/pseuds/Juniperboy
Summary: When the fire nation raids the southern water tribe, they don’t kill Kya; they capture Sokka instead. {Firenation! Sokka AU} New chapters added every Friday!
Comments: 45
Kudos: 119





	1. PROLOGUE

**Author's Note:**

> //this is my first multi-chapter fic! Chapter updates may be inconsistent, but I'll try my best to update at least once a week. Also, again, sorry if the formatting is wonky. I also had a lot of help from some friends in terms of sorting out plot points and brainstorming ideas and for helping me come up with this entire idea in the first place, so thanks to @lostsock on Tumblr, @emisalla on Twitter, and @impossiblycyberenthusiast on Tumblr! Go give them a lotta love, this fic wouldn't be anything without them. (Title cred to @thatlostsock on Tumblr!)

It was a dreary day on the fire nation ship. The troops had just finished a raid on the southern water tribe, kidnapping their children in hopes of training them to become military soldiers.  
Yhon Ra, the commander of the fleet, grunted, “C’mon, kid,” to Sokka, who was huddling towards the side of the ship. “We’re taking you home.”  
Sokka pouted. He didn’t know why he was here; where was his mom? Gran Gran? Dad? On this ship, he couldn’t see anyone he knew. There was no ice or snow, and everyone was dressed in red, a color he had hardly seen before. 

“What about mom and dad?” The four-year-old queried. He was worried about them; the men who took him seemed angry about something, and he didn’t want them to hurt his parents. The commander simply laughed. 

“They’ll be fine. You’re going to a new home now.” 

Sokka’s lip trembled. New home? Didn’t mom and dad want him? Why had they sent him to be with these mean men? 

The other children on the boat, he realized, seemed to be feeling the same way. There were tears flooding from every face, angry shouts coming from the officers, and not a smile in sight. Had so many parents really given up their children?

“Mr. Asao, please meet your new son.” The man had taken Sokka to a strange city. It was warm, and none of the buildings were white or seemed to be melting. No, they were all decorated with red and gold, and the houses ranged from large to small, although most seemed large to Sokka.  
Maybe he just felt small.  
“Nice to meet you, little boy! I’m Gaku Asao, but you can call me Pop if you’d like.” This new man, “Pop”, seemed a little fake to Sokka. His smile was plastered on, and, from inside, he could hear a woman yelling. Was he staying here, with these people? Why couldn’t he just go home?  
He shot a desperate look up to Yhon Ra, who just shoved him forward.  
“Go on now, meet your new family. And don’t ever mention your old one, got it? Ever. There’ll be consequences if you do.”  
Sokka gulped and looked down at the boomerang in his hands; he happened to be carrying it when they took him, and it was the last reminder he’d ever have of home. He shoved it in his shirt and stepped through the doorway, into a new life. 

\---

“Happy sixth birthday, “Suck-a!” Azula sneered at the boy, who was adorned in elegant red and gold robes. Somehow, the people who took him in knew his birthday. He was celebrating it with the few friends he’d made within the past two years: Azula, Zuko, and Mai. And his sisters, of course. While he wasn't close with most of them, they were good enough company for him.  
He was happy to have any company at all.  
“Thanks, A-snooze-la!” He flashed a toothy grin as Azula simply rolled her eyes and stormed off. They were sitting around the turtle duck pond, as the Firelord’s family had offered to host the birthday party.  
As they waited around for their dinner to be ready, Sokka plopped down and pulled out a piece of parchment he’d snagged from his parents’ house. Mai wandered over and sat down.  
“What’re you drawing?” She asked softly. He liked Mai; she wasn’t as mean as Azula.  
“Well, I had this idea ‘bout turtle ducks!” He gestured to one that was waddling past. “I was thinking...if we fill a buncha balloon with breadcrumbs, and then drop em on the bad guys in the war, we could send an army of turtle ducks after em!” He laughed. “The turtle ducks’ll go crazy on 'em! They won’t see it coming!”  
Mai laughed softly. “You’re so sweet, Sokka.”  
Iroh had been sitting by the pond as well, staring at Sokka as he said this. He loved attending family events, even if the event revolved around someone who wasn’t exactly a family member.   
Iroh knew all about Sokka’s backstory. Despite what Sokka had been through, it amazed Iroh that not only could Sokka maintain a positive attitude, but he could come up with pretty creative ideas while doing it.  
“Hello, son.” Iroh walked over, tea in hand. “I heard about your invention. I never would have thought to fight using bread crumbs.”  
Sokka looked up at Iroh. He had seen him a few times around the Royal Palace, but he had never interacted with him much. “Oh, hi! I know, isn’t it genius?” He asked before returning to his parchment paper covered in messy scribbles.  
Iroh sat down, “how are you liking the Fire Nation?”  
Without looking up, Sokka shrugged. “It’s okay. I like seeing Azula shoot fire outta her hands.” He giggled, “Zuko kinda stinks at it, though!”  
“Hey!” Iroh said in a jokingly stern voice, “Be nice to your friend! What he lacks in fire bending he makes up for in kindness.”  
With a thoughtful nod, he said, “You’re right, Iroh…” as he reflected on his past two years in the fire nation, he realized he’d never heard such positive feedback, nor such insightful advice. Truthfully, while Pop and Ma were sweet, they weren’t around a lot; Pop was working most of the time, and Ma always had friends over. She would send him to the Fire Nation palace any chance she got, and by the time he came home, she would be too busy, usually cooking or shopping, disabling her from spending time with him. 

\---

Over a year had passed since Sokka’s birthday party. He’d had fun, playing games and teasing Zuko for his bending. In fact, he even tried to teach his friends how to use his boomerang!  
“What is that? It looks like some...water tribe thing.” Azula had scoffed, clearly displeased that he had a relic from his past life.  
“No no, it’s really cool, watch this!” Sokka hurled the thing as far as he could. Once it traveled about ten feet away from them, it began to circle back, hitting Sokka square in the head and knocking him down.  
“S-see? It comes back!” He squeaked, earning polite claps from Mai and Zuko.  
“Whatever. Your boomerang can’t make fire!” Azula scorned.  
“Azula, you must admit it is impressive to see a weapon that always returns to its owner. The boomerang is unique; it has a sense of loyalty to whoever uses it,” Iroh strolled up to the kids, helping Sokka up. “I think it is very impressive, Sokka.”  
Sokka glowed. He’d never received a compliment from an adult before, especially not one from the Fire Nation.  
As the party began to wind down, Iroh found himself conversing with Sokka's adopted parents. "You're very sweet to him, Iroh!" Ms. Asao smiled in pity, "I don't know why you bother, though. He's not Fire Nation born, nor is he a bender. What use would he be in the military? In fighting the war?" Iroh smiled wistfully, “I do not know about the military, but I believe Sokka will be able to do whatever his heart wants. That’s all that matters, is it not?”  


\---

Mr. and Ms. Asao lived close to the Royal Palace; it was an incentive for them to adopt Sokka. Whenever Sokka and his sisters went over to play with Azula or Zuko, Iroh liked to pop in and say hello. He was quick to help him settle into Fire Nation life and teach him what he knew about tea, life, and whatever Sokka wished to learn. Despite having frequent life advice from Iroh, Sokka still felt out of place in his new life. However, whenever his new parents traveled, Sokka and his sisters would stay at the Royal Palace. Whenever Iroh wasn't present to greet him, he would receive a note from Iroh, as well as a keepsake. During one raid, Iroh sent him home a boomerang sharpener; Sokka was ecstatic.  
Additionally, Sokka frequently tried to make new tea recipes when he visited, and Iroh, although almost always knowing they’d be terrible, tried them all with the same excitement and vigor. 

During one of his stays Sokka meekly walked to one of the Royal Gardens. He still struggled to make friends with the royal children and the rest of their crew. Azula and Mai soon came into view; he figured his sisters were still conversing with the adults.  
“Sokkaaaa!” Azula called as he approached, “Come here!”  
Sokka frowned. Azula was never this excited to see him.  
“What is it?” He asked, nodding to Iroh in a signal that he can continue the story later.  
As Iroh walked off to find his brother, Azula ran up to him and guided him towards Mai.  
“We’re going to play a game,” she explained, “but we just need one more person. Zuzu!”  
Zuko looked up from where he had been walking across the royal palace balcony with his mother, “what?”  
“Will you play with us? We need one more person for the game to be fun.”  
Zuko, after seeing his mother’s nod and hearing her quiet whispers, sighed. “Fine. But not for too long.”  
Sokka couldn’t help but watch Zuko as he descended the Royal Palace stairs. He hadn’t spent much time with the other boy, and he was a bit afraid to. Why was he afraid?  
“Okay,” Azula grabbed an apple that Mai had just picked from a nearby tree and placed it on Sokka’s head. “You have to try and knock the apple off of Sokka’s head. I’ll go first.”  
Sokka didn’t like the sound of this. He would have been much better at knocking apples off people’s heads, especially with his boomerang. But being the recipient of whatever fire or weapon came at him? That sounded dangerous.  
Azula quickly shot a burst of flames towards the apple, lighting it on fire. It didn’t budge from his head, it just burned closer and closer down towards Sokka’s skull. He hopped from one foot to the other, hoping that the flame would just burn out.  
Seeing the discomfort in Sokka’s eyes, Zuko quickly ran and tackled Sokka without thinking. They both landed in the nearby fountain, the apple flying off of Sokka’s head and into the water.  
As they emerged, soaking wet, Mai and Azula were both giggling.  
“I told you it would work!” Azula exclaimed to Mai, “aren’t they adorable together?”  
While Sokka sat in the water in shock, Zuko stormed off into the palace.  
“I-I need to go...find 'Roh…” Sokka stammered, using his nickname for Iroh, before running off towards the entrance to the garden. He didn't trust his parents enough to talk to them about how he was feeling. Even if he did, they weren't around for him to talk to.  
“Hello, Sokka.” Iroh was about to enter the eastern wing of the palace, “Is something on your mind?”  
Tears began to well up in Sokka’s eyes, “'Roh, is it okay to like boys instead of girls?”  
Iroh took Sokka’s hand, leading him out of the garden. He wasn't sure what had gone on while he was gone, but he didn't really need the details.  
“Sokka, listen to me carefully,” Iroh stared into his eyes, “I will support you no matter who you love, no matter what you decide to do in your life. As long as you are happy and being true to yourself, that is all that matters to me.”  
Sokka began to cry; he had never cried like this before. These were pure tears of joy, tears of love. He had so much love for Iroh, and he couldn't stand the thought of going home to the Asao household later that week. Iroh understood. Instead of questioning the boy, he simply sat with him and rubbed his back, staying with him until his tears dried.


	2. The first encounter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aang is released from the iceberg and meets Katara and her tribe. Sokka sees someone from his past life. Zuko finds the avatar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> //Hey, all! Since I added the note late to my first chapter, just wanted to mention again that I had a lot of help from @lostsock on Tumblr, @emisalla on Twitter, and @impossiblycyberenthusiast on Tumblr! They helped with this fic idea, plot points, and the like. I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 1  
“I don’t like it around here…” Sokka muttered, fumbling with his boomerang as they sailed across the frigid ocean, passing icebergs and sheets of snow. “It’s too cold. Why didn’t anyone tell me to pack a jacket?”  
“We tried,” Zuko huffed from the head of the ship, “you wouldn’t listen.”  
Zuko, Sokka, and Iroh were trying to hunt down the avatar. After Zuko spoke out against his father’s wishes and was exiled, the three set out on a course to help Zuko regain his honor and return to the fire nation.  
“Whatever,” Sokka strolled over to Zuko, flicking him on the side of the head, “being with you beats being in the Fire Nation.”  
Sokka wasn’t really respected in the fire nation. After he failed out of the military training academy and instead attended schooling with Zuko and Azula, where he barely passed, nobody really held an interest in him. In fact, most of the kids who were kidnapped from the raid on his tribe all those years ago had either died in combat, become homeless, or had fled the Fire Nation.  
He was just a reminder to everyone of one of the Nation’s few failed missions.  
“Sokka, thank you for joining us.” Iroh called from behind them, where he sat cross-legged with a cup of tea, “I think your knowledge could be very useful in our search.  
That is if the avatar is even alive.”  
“Of course he’s alive!” Zuko snapped, his ponytail whipping in the wind as he turned to face his uncle, “I saw the light beam, I know he’s close.”  
“Whatever,” Sokka shrugged, slinging an arm around Zuko, “You’ve said that the last five times we’ve seen a weird light. But hey, as long as I get to use you as a source of warmth, I won’t complain.”  
With a grunt, Zuko shoved Sokka away, leaving him stunned and a bit hurt. He’d put up with this treatment for years. Why hadn’t he gotten used to it?

\---

“I want you to meet my tribe.”  
Katara was gesturing around a vast, snowy clearing, clustered mostly with elders and children.  
Aang, who had just been rescued from an iceberg nearby, nodded politely. “Hello, my name is Aang. It’s nice to meet you all.”

Katara glowed as she looked at him. She could sense something special deep within Aang, though she wasn’t quite sure what it was yet.  
“No offense, but…” Aang paused as he thought, “...where are the rest of your tribe members?”

Katara sighed, looking towards her mother. Kya and her grandmother were the only family members she had left.

“Before I was born, the fire nation raided our village and stole many of our children. We should have them as soldiers now, to protect our tribe and fight against the Fire Nation. But instead, they’re fighting against us…” Katara trailed off, “...I had a brother…”

Aang looked up, startled, “Oh, was he...?”

Katara nodded solemnly. “He was taken in the raids. His name was Sokka. I never got to meet him, but mom and dad...they never recovered when he left…” She put her head in her hands. She felt like a shadow of her older brother, someone she could never live up to, yet knew nothing about. Her mother expected her to train every day, saying things like _we don’t have men like Sokka or your father around to protect us now_ , and _you know, if those raids hadn’t happened, things would be different…_

She had begun to resent her mother.

Aang simply stared at the fractured iceberg in the distance, the one that had held him for so long. “But the Fire Nation has good people, I don’t understand why they would steal children. I know that this war has changed everything, but would the Fire Nation really destroy families like that?”  
Katara nodded with tears in her eyes. “Aang, you have so much to learn...the Fire Nation has become ruthless against our people, against anyone who stands in their way of conquering the other nations. They took the only people who could defend us and-and used them against us!” Tears streamed down her face, “I could be fighting my brother any day now, Aang, do you know how hard that is for me?”

\---

“Up there! It's the Southern Water Tribe!” Zuko pointed towards the horizon, where a large mass of ice lay. “He’s there. I can feel it.”  
“Whatever you say, buddy. I’m off the play pai sho with 'Roh.”  
Zuko looked back as Sokka disappeared into the ship. Why didn’t he care more about what Zuko was doing? Didn’t he see that he wanted this for both of them, so they could both live honorably together?  
_Not together. Not together._ Zuko shook his head, repeating that to himself. _We can both live honorably in the Fire Nation._  
As the white mass grew nearer, igloos came into view, as well as the faces of several terrified tribe members.  
As the ship cut into the ice, cracking it until it reached the igloos, Zuko began to dismount and head straight towards Aang.  
Sokka could hear screaming through the ship's ceiling. He heard the strained grunts and yells coming from Zuko, and he knew immediately that he had begun fighting.  
“Maybe it was the avatar after all,” Iroh commented, sipping his tea before standing up. “Would you like to go support Zuko in whatever battle he has gotten himself into?”  
Sokka sat motionless, staring into the metal walls of the ship. He hated this place. It felt too familiar, like he’d been here before.  
He knew he had been stolen from another nation, but nobody ever told him which one. Northern or Southern Water Tribe, Omashu or Ba Sing Se, or worse...could he have been taken from the air nomads?  
He shivered as he suppressed the thought. _They were wiped out for a reason,_ he reasoned, _they wouldn’t have killed my people while forcing me to watch...right?_  
“'Roh,” Sokka began, “what if they all look just like me? I don’t want to have any connection to this place. Won’t that just make me soft?”  
Iroh took his hand. He knew that Sokka hadn’t had it easy growing up; he had always felt like an outsider, especially when adopted by the Asao's. Not even Iroh's guidance could fix that.  
“Sokka,” Iroh said, “sometimes our closest friends and allies mean more to us than those related to us by blood. You do not even remember your mother, yet you came from her womb. But in battle, who would you choose to sacrifice, her or Zuko?” He was tempted to ask about himself, but he knew Sokka would feel pressured to say him since Iroh was standing right there.  
“Zuko, easy. I love Zuko like-like a brother…” Sokka felt his ears go red, “...and my mother-well, it’s not her fault Ozai stole me…” while Sokka had been under the impression for a lot of his childhood that the process had been voluntary, but as he grew older his adopted parents became blunter and blunter about how he was taken. “...I don’t have any feelings for her, that’s all.”  
Iroh nodded simply. “Then you will not have a problem seeing her in battle. Especially if you are battling to help your brother, no?” Iroh grinned. He knew, since that day in the garden, that Sokka had some type of feelings towards Zuko. However, he didn’t feel the need to pry. He knew Sokka would entrust him with the details when he was ready. 

As Sokka emerged from the bottom of the ship, his eyes widened at what he saw before him. Frozen guards were scattered around the ship, a flying bison was soaring through the sky, and most shockingly of all…  
Everyone in the tribe, huddled in the farthest corner of the icy clearing, looked just like him.  
While he wished he could take in the once in a lifetime sight of seeing a flying bison, he couldn’t take his eyes away from the tribe members. They were mostly elderly folks and young children, although…  
There was a woman. She had stunning blue eyes, a puffy coat suited for the cold, and dark hair pulled back into a loose braid.  
When she frowned, her eyebrows furrowed together, nostrils flared, and eyes narrowed.  
She looked just like him.  
“Sokka,” Zuko was getting up from the floor of the ship, blood was splattered all over him. He would have to ask about that later. He couldn’t think about anyone except the mysterious woman right now. “What are you doing? Start up the ship! Get us out of here; we can still catch up!”  
Sokka let out a breath of relief. He turned to go back down the steps, right as he heard his name being called out.  
“S-Sokka…? Is that you?”  
With tears streaming down his face, he turned back towards the woman. He recognized her voice; smooth and soft like honey. Long forgotten memories of her flashed through his mind; her carrying him in her arms as a baby, her leading him around the tribe, and most of all, her giving him his boomerang.  
“I don’t know who you’re talking about.” He sniffled as he choked get the words out. “The Sokka you knew is dead. I’m loyal to the Fire Nation now. I’m loyal to my the Fire Nation--to Zuko.”  
As he managed to stumble down the stairs, he burst into full-on sobs as he collided into Iroh, who had begun shoveling coal to start up the ship.  
“Why do I feel…” He began as he heard the clatter of a shovel being dropped and felt arms wrap around him.  
“Not everything is as black and white as it looks,” Iroh murmured, “you can love your mother and still be a loyal Fire Nation soldier. Zuko and I will still be here for you, even if you love her.”  
As the ship began to recede out of the iceberg and turn in the direction that the sky bison had gone in, Sokka dug his fingernails into Iroh's robes, stifling his sobs with the fabric.


	3. Sokka's Birthday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Katara and Aang meet a new friend, Zuko and Sokka get into a fight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> //sorry for not being on schedule! this idea wouldnt leave my mind so i had to write it and post it right away. this counts for fridays update!

_ To Sokka, a brave Fire Nation citizen and sub-par pai sho player. Sincerely, Iroh. _

The words were engraved into the shiny, gold accented boomerang. It was his birthday gift. 

While Zuko had remembered his birthday, he had only wished him a happy birthday. Sokka was disappointed; is that all their friendship...or whatever it was...was to Zuko? Just a friendly, acquaintance relationship?

_ All he cares about is that damn avatar,  _ Sokka brooded from the door that led below the ship deck,  _ what’s so special about him, anyways? He’s just a kid.  _

__ They were currently trying to follow the avatar and his friend, whose name was Katara, according to Zuko. It was hard to follow someone who was flying through the sky when you have nothing but an old Fire Nation ship. 

Sokka decided to join Zuko at the front of the ship, where he kept his eyes trained on the water. 

“How’s it goin’?” Sokka tried, cursing himself for not coming up with anything better to say. 

Zuko didn’t look away. “How do you think? We’ve been travelling for days and there’s still no sight of the avatar. I can’t lose him, not when we were so close to capturing him.”

Sokka huffed, leaning over the edge of the boat and staring into the water. “Y’know, travelling like this...with you...I mean, it wouldn’t be the end of the world if we didn’t find him…”

Zuko finally tore his gaze away from the sea to glare at him, “end of the world? My world has already ended. I’ve lost  _ everything.  _ My honor, my father’s respect, my place as heir to the throne...What else do I have? Will travelling the world give me any of that?” 

Sokka sighed, pushing himself away from the ship’s edge before walking back towards the cabin. “Whatever. Be alone and miserable.”

“It’s no use trying to talk sense into that boy,” Iroh had just beat Sokka again in pai sho, “he cannot see beyond his pride.”

“I-I know, but…” Sokka began hesitantly, “...can’t he see that he has us? I mean, he does...value us, right?”

Iroh chuckled, putting a hand on Sokka’s shoulder. “Zuko appreciates us in ways he cannot express. Until he learns to do so, we just have to show him that we will be there for him.”

Sokka nodded, not looking up from his cup of tea.

  
  


\---

“I...I can’t believe how much things have changed…”   
Aang couldn’t pry his gaze away from the dismal state of the southern air temple. Weeds were sprouting everywhere, the wooden pegs where he used to play air ball with his friends were covered with moss and fungi, and all of the once-blooming trees were once dead. 

Katara approached him carefully, “I know it’s hard to accept...the Fire Nation is cruel and ruthless.” 

Aang nodded. Why was he expected to carry the weight of his entire tribe? Moreover, of the entire world? He was only twelve. He didn’t want to feel like this, to feel so alone. 

“I want to see the temple,” Aang looked down; he couldn’t look at Katara, not when he was feeling so fragile. “I want to see my home.”   
Katara nodded slowly as they trekked further up the mountain, towards the towering palace. She quickly spotted an old, rusted Fire Nation helmet, which she kicked away before Aang could notice.

The water bender let out a gasp of awe as she looked around the temple. Murals covered each wall, looming over the two kids. 

“This is…” Aang reached out a hand as he stopped in front of one of the murals; an older man, with his tattoos fully realized, in a classic airbending stance. “...Monk Gyatso…”   
Before Katara could ask, they heard a noise from farther inside the temple.

“Yeah, you were hungry, huh boy?” The voice was high pitched, and surprisingly happy for being in such a bleak place. 

“Stay back,” Katara ordered, sensing trouble. She didn’t trust anyone who lingered around here, not unless they were an air bender. Besides, how could anyone get up here without a flying bison?   
As Katara and Aang slowly approached the voice, a girl came into view.

She was thin and tall, her brown hair pulled back in a braid, and was feeding peaches to her eel hound. 

The girl let out another laugh. “That’s a good boy--oh!” She immediately dropped the peach when she saw Katara and Aang.

“The floor--! Aw…” Aang rushed to pick up the dropped peach from the old floor.

“What are you doing here?” Katara queried cautiously, her eyes not leaving Aang. She had to admit, the girl looked like she could be an air bender.

“Oh, sorry about that! My name’s Ty Lee. I’m just visiting!”

“Ty Lee…” Katara thought for a moment. “Oh--! Aren’t you that girl the Fire Nation banished?” Her father had brought home stories of the girl. That is, when he was able to visit.

“Y-yep! That’s me…” She rubbed the back of her neck. “I was kicked out because some of my family were air benders...since I was a kid, they spared me. My grandparents…” Her gaze fell.

“Oh wow, another air bender!” Aang looked up from the peach remains, his face lit up with awe. “I’m not alone!”

“No...that’s the thing, I…” Ty Lee covered her face. “I can’t even bend! I-I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be bothering you with all of this, it’s just…” she sniffled, “...why does it matter where I came from? I was loyal to the Fire Nation; what gives them the...the right to treat me like this?”

Katara sighed. She knew the girl was no threat: after all, when you spill your life story to a bunch of strangers, how harmful can you be?   
“It’s okay, we know how that feels…” Katara glanced at Aang, “the Fire Nation stole my brother before I was born. They also killed all of the air nomads...you were lucky to escape.”

Ty Lee choked back a sob. “So it’s true? I thought...I thought that those were just horror stories, and that this temple was just abandoned, o-or--”

“Hey, hey, don’t worry!” Aang finally stood up, forgetting about the peach. He extended his hand to the distraught girl. “You don’t have to be alone anymore! My friend and I--” 

Katara kicked him. While she didn’t believe Ty Lee could do any harm, maybe it was best that he didn’t reveal his status as the avatar. 

“I’m sorry for your loss,” Katara started, “My friend, ah, L-Lee and I...well, we were just visiting. He comes from air bending descent too, you see. My tribe adopted him when he was young.” She prayed that Aang would understand her need to lie, and simply go along with it.

“Uh...yeah! That’s me, Lee!” Aang forced a grin. “I sure do love...the water tribe…”   
Ty Lee sniffled, “it’s so great that you have a family, and such a nice friend, Lee...I-I really should get going before someone else finds me…” She suppressed a shiver at the thought of the Fire Nation finding her here. Besides, her goal from coming here was to decipher the murals and to learn to air bend. She had...well, she had been able to decipher the murals just fine, but couldn’t airbend at all. 

As she hopped onto her eel hound, she gave a small smile. “I hope our paths meet again some day.”   
With those words, she was off, racing out of the temple and down the mountains. 

“Whew…” Aang sighed, “At least now I know I’m not the last air bender descendent!” 

“Yeah…” Katara couldn’t help but wonder how he could stay so positive. Hell, they just watched a stranger break down and cry. She didn’t even know their real names, for agni’s sake! “Let’s keep going…”

\---

As night fell, Sokka couldn’t help but peek out of the cabin, towards the slumped shadow that lay on the floorboards of the ship.

Sokka brought out a blanket, and wrapped it around Zuko’s body, figuring that he had finally become too tired to keep watching for the avatar.

_ I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to keep watch for him... _ Sokka thought as he finished wrapping the blanket around his friend. 

_ Sweet agni, he’s warm… _

__ The nights had begun to grow cold, and if Sokka were to do this favor for Zuko, he couldn’t do it shivering and frostbitten. 

Sokka carefully sat down and climbed under the blanket until his hip touched zuko’s side. At this feeling of contact, Zuko reached out unconsciously and wrapped his hands around Sokka’s hips, curling into him as he drifted further into sleep. 

\---

As a kid, Sokka hated sleeping over at his friends’ houses. Zuko and Azula would hold sleepovers regularly, and even though Sokka went, he always got homesick by the time bedtime rolled around.

Whenever he slept over, he and Zuko shared a room. One night, after seeing Sokka particularly homesick, Zuko crawled over into his bed.

“Hey, it’s okay…” Zuko murmured with a smile. “We had fun today, right? You know your family isn’t too far away?”   
Sokka shrugged, sniffling a bit. “I guess...b-but I…”

Sokka couldn't put his feelings into words. He'd be lying if he said he missed his adopted family, but there was something about living somewhere temporarily, even if just for one night, that he hated.  
He knew it had to do with his kidnapping.

“I know…” Zuko wrapped his arms around Sokka, giving off warmth in the process. “...but I miss you when we don’t see each other for awhile…”   
Sokka put his head on Zuko’s shoulder. He laughed, suddenly feeling drowsy. “You’re such a dork…” He yawned, before falling asleep.

\---

Since that night, whenever he slept over, Zuko made it a habit of wrapping Sokka in a warm hug, embracing him until he fell asleep. Even a little bit after that. Sokka hadn’t slept over at the Royal Palace in years, but spirits...the feel of Zuko’s hands wrapped around his hips as he slept, lighting him up with warmth as they huddled under the blanket, was enough to make him smile. 

After what was most likely a few hours, but felt like a few seconds, Zuko let out a groan and began to stir. 

“Hey sleepy head,” Sokka chided as Zuko sat up.

“I fell asleep?” Zuko glared at Sokka. “Why didn’t you wake me?”   
“I-I dunno, I thought maybe you needed some sleep--” Sokka wasn’t expecting him to react like this. Wasn’t he happy to be spending some time with him? “I was watching for the avatar, don’t worry--”

“Sleep is for the weak, Sokka. Besides, you don’t even know what he looks like. You’re useless.” Zuko hauled himself up and walked to the edge of the ship. 

“That’s what you have to say to me?” Sokka refused to back down. He had been too nice to Zuko in the past, but calling him  _ useless?  _ On his  _ birthday? _

Sokka couldn't follow his Iroh's advice. Not this time. Zuko had crossed a line; he knew how powerful, how hurtful those words were to him. 

That was the last straw. 

“Sokka, just go back in--”

“No. You know what?” Sokka stared at Zuko, “I really appreciate that from you. That was a nice fucking birthday gift. I’ve been told that my whole life, by everyone...a-and you know that…” Sokka ran a hand through his hair. “Zuko, I-I just wanted to have a nice moment...why can’t you just let me--let us--have nice things?”

Zuko didn’t respond. “I didn’t mean it…” was all he could whisper. “I-I’m sorry Sokka, I really am--”

“Goodnight, Zuko.” He probably wouldn’t hold the grudge for long, but he wanted to teach the prince that his words had consequences. Blanket in hand, he stormed back into the cabin, settling in for an unrestful night’s sleep.


	4. The new member

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone new joins the gaang; Zuko and Sokka decide to have a sword fight to end their disagreements.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> //don't worry, more gaang-centric chapters are coming soon! I just love building up the relationship between Sokka and Zuko ;-; I do have more plans for Ty Lee and Suki though, just stay tuned!

Three days had passed since their fight, and Sokka still wasn’t about to forgive Zuko. It felt more like a game of chicken at this point: who would back down first and sincerely apologize?

The morning after their fight, Zuko remained as cold as ever.

_ I guess he wasn’t sorry after all... _ Sokka rolled his eyes. He thought he saw something in Zuko last night, some shimmer of remorse. But he was quick to brush that thought away.  _ Typical. _

“Zuko, Sokka!” Iroh called as the boys left the cabin. He had made breakfast and tea, hoping to have a nice meal with the two boys. Truthfully, he had no idea how bad the spat between the two was; he hoped that after three days they’d be willing to make up.

Right?

“Come and eat. I will not tolerate any animosity between you two,” he smiled warmly as he offered a cup and a plate to Sokka, then to Zuko.

“Thank you, but I’d rather eat in the cabin, away from all of this filth,” Sokka glared at Zuko as he took his plate and retreated to the lower level.

Zuko yelled, smoke swirling out of his fingers. “Uncle, why does he have to be so difficult?”

“Zuko, when you hurt people, you cannot expect to be forgiven right away,” Iroh murmured as he sipped his tea, “just be kind to him. He will forgive you in time. Besides,” Iroh winked, “I think you are pushing him away for a reason.”

As he grabbed his breakfast plate and his cup of tea, he couldn’t get Sokka’s or Iroh’s words out of his head:

_ Why can’t you let us have nice things? _

_ I think you are pushing him away for a reason. _

What reason could he have for pushing him away? Sokka was one of his closest friends, they’d been together since he could remember, hell, he loved Sokka.

_ Like. _ Zuko took a sip of scalding hot tea,  _ I like Sokka. Spirits, I might even...love him as a brother. He's a good friend. _

\---

“Alright!” Aang cheered as he saw the feast laid out before him and Katara. After managing to avoid getting eaten by the Unagi and convincing the members of Kiyoshi island that he was the avatar, Aang was starving.

As Aang began to shove all types of pastries into his mouth, Katara looked up towards the door, watching as a girl opened and stepped through it.

“Hello avatar, Katara…” The girl bowed awkwardly, her messy chin-length hair sweeping over her white makeup. “My name is Suki, and I just wanted to offer my sincerest apologies for--”

"Don’t worry about it!” Aang managed to say between mouthfuls of food. “My name’s Aang, by the way.”

She nodded briefly, a smile flitting across her face as she sat down across from him and Katara.

“I was actually meaning to talk to you two,” Suki said, staring down at the food, “I’m the leader of the Kiyoshi warriors, the--ah, the girls who captured you earlier. I want to accompany you on your journey.” She bowed her head towards the two. "You are travelling to learn all of the elements, right?"

Katara nodded, "Yes, we're on our way to the Northern Water Tribe. But--"

“Once the news gets out that the avatar has returned, you won’t be very safe traveling," Suki continued, "especially since there are only two of you. I was thinking that I could help. My warriors can hold their own here; they’ve trained and learned the ways of Kiyoshi well.”

Katara thought for a moment, “I think we’re fine, to be honest. I mean, I’m a water bender, and Aang--well, while he only knows air bending now, he’s going to be a master in all of the elements in no time.” Truthfully, Katara was a little offended. Who did Suki think she was? She wasn’t even a bender; Katara thought that she was perfectly capable of keeping Aang safe on her own.

“Of course, I didn’t mean to offend you...but how good are you at hand to hand combat?” Suki raised her head, “I’ve spent my entire life learning how to fight without bending, and the armies you’ll face will surely know how to as well. I understand if you don’t want to accept my offer, but at the very least...consider it.”

Aang looked up at Katara, confused. He couldn’t understand why she was upset; what’s the harm in adding one more person to the team? He decided that since he was the one they’d both be protecting, he’d get to have the final say in whether or not Suki would get to join.

“I think it would be great if you joined us!” Aang grinned towards Suki, who broke into a smile. “I’d love to learn how to fight with your fans, and how you do such cool makeup.”

Katara sighed in resignation as Suki looked towards her for permission.

“Alright then,” Suki stood up, her eyes twinkling with excitement, “I’ll be sure to let everybody know. Trust me, you won’t regret this.”

\---

“Talk to me!” Zuko had finally had enough. Night was falling, and as they approached Kiyoshi island, Sokka was still refusing to help him on his search for the avatar.

“No,” Sokka hissed, “you still haven’t learned, huh? If I forgive you you'll just hurt me again. It’s, like, every other week with you!”

“I DON’T HAVE TIME FOR THIS!” Zuko screamed, flames bursting out of his mouth and towards the sprawling ocean. “Fine. You want to act tough? Let’s have a duel.” Zuko rushed into the cabin, quickly returning with two swords. “If you manage to pin me to the ground, I’ll apologize. If I pin you to the ground, you’ll apologize.”

As Sokka took the sword, he snorted. “What do I have to apologize for?”

_ For playing with my feelings. For abandoning me like this.  _ “For wasting my time and energy on such a pointless argument.”

Zuko lunged at Sokka, aiming to strike him in the chest. Sokka managed to block his sword with his own, pushing it away before finally causing Zuko to retreat.

“This argument isn’t pointless,” Sokka growled, managing to slash at Zuko’s leg. He should feel guilty for hurting Zuko, right?

Why didn’t he feel anything?

“You need to stop hurting the people who...who would never hurt you!” Sokka winced as Zuko sliced at his knee before stepping back, nicking him enough to throw him off of his balance.

“If you can’t handle being called worthless, then actually do something.” Zuko had a look of fire in his eyes. He had already lost in the agni kai with his father by refusing to fight; he wasn’t going to lose another battle.

“I’m not worthless, and you know it!” Sokka was running, despite his slight limp, towards Zuko, his shoulder-length hair flying behind him.

As Sokka pinned him against the side of the ship, he glared into his icy yellow eyes. He leaned into Zuko's ear, “you love me. You would be fucking lost without me, but you’re too much of a coward to say it so you’re just pushing me away and hoping that I’ll leave.”

Zuko let out another frustrated yell. Was Sokka drunk on cactus juice? What was he talking about?

Was he right?

He managed to wiggle out of Sokka's grip, drop his sword, and pin Sokka’s hands behind his back.

“Take that back,” he snarled, “I don’t love you. I barely love that old man in the cabin. I would be just fine without either of you.”

He was lying. Of course he was lying. He adored Iroh with all of his heart, and Sokka, well…

Sokka followed suit and dropped his sword, struggling against Zuko’s grip.

“Let me go--”

“Not until you take back what you said!”

Sokka had the advantage of height; he fell backward, causing himself and the prince to crash onto the boat’s floor.

he then rolled to face Zuko before pinning his hands to the ground.

What next?

While the rage hadn’t left Zuko’s eyes, Sokka couldn't keep his eyes from wandering to the other boy’s lips. They looked so soft, and as his tongue darted out to wet them…

“What are you doing?” Zuko’s tone sounded panicked, and, as Sokka looked down, he realized that he had hardened while being on top of the other boy.

Sokka yelped, scrambling off of him before covering his groin with his hands.

“I-It wasn’t you!” Sokka spat, “I just...it’s been awhile since I’ve touched anyone, okay? Do you remember the last time we came across a hot girl?”

Zuko’s face was beet red. The dam in his mind that he had tried so hard to keep up, that his father had forced him to create, had vanished.

_ Sokka might actually like me? _

_ He-he looks really hot like this… _

“I’m going to bed…” Zuko muttered. He had to stop these thoughts--these foreign, confusing thoughts--from continuing. “Goodnight Sokka...a-and I’m sorry.”


	5. Omashu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Katara, Suki, and Aang make their way to Omashu. Zuko is surprised by a piece of Iroh's wisdom.

As dawn began to kiss the horizon, Aang, Suki, and Katara set off from Kiyoshi island towards Omashu. 

“Aang, we really need to work on your bending--why do we need to stop in Omashu?” Katara queried. 

“Well,” Aang began, “they have an _awesome_ mail system--”   
“You want to visit Omashu to admire how they get their mail?” Katara scoffed.

“Be quiet!” Suki looked back towards the others; she had been put in charge of steering Appa towards the city. “Let him speak.”

Katara was quickly growing sick of Suki’s attitude. She had been on the team for what, two days? And she thought she knew better than Katara, a _water bender?_

 _No,_ Katara reminded herself, _Suki is very skilled in fighting, even if she isn’t a bender. You need her._

“Fine, go on.” Katara insisted.

“Well, the mail system isn’t the point. The chutes that they use to carry the mail on are _huge!_ My friend Bumi taught me how to ride down the chutes and turn them into the nation’s best mega-slide!” 

Suki chuckled. She had never seen Omashu before; hell, she hadn’t been anywhere except Kiyoshi Island, where she was born and raised. She assumed that the chutes were pretty small: after all, who would let a couple of kids ride down the mail chutes if they were really _that_ big?

“That sounds fun, Aang.” She responded, keeping her eyes ahead.

“No, it doesn’t! It sounds dangerous!” Katara didn’t like the sound of riding on a mega slide, especially if it consisted of bumping into random, potentially dangerous packages on the way down. 

“What, are you scared? You aren’t gonna possum-chicken out on us, are you?” Suki only knew of that phrase from her siblings, who had traveled the world, including the foggy swamps where the possum chicken originated from. 

“No, what? What even is that?” Katara glared at Suki. She was anything but scared! She just wanted to make sure Aang stayed safe since he was the avatar. 

At least, that’s what she kept telling herself. 

“Whatever you saaaay…” Suki trailed off, leaving Aang giggling and Katara fuming. 

\---

“We’re approaching the shore!” The sun had reached its peak in the sky, and Zuko was staring intently on the expanse of land that lay ahead. “Quick, get ready to dismount. We’ll have to walk to Omashu.”

According to Iroh’s sources, the avatar had been seen heading towards Omashu, which meant having to dock the ship at the nearest harbor and walk most of the way to Omashu. It wasn’t too far of a walk, at least not compared to the past two weeks they had spent out at sea. In fact, Zuko was thankful for the respite from so much time surrounded by water. 

“When we get there, we will have to steal some earth kingdom clothing. We cannot be walking around near a big city dressed like this,” Iroh gestured to his red clothing. “Zuko and I will come up with different names for ourselves; Sokka, you can say your father was born in the Water Tribe and wanted to give you a name that reflected that heritage.”  
Although Sokka simply nodded, it felt as though he had been struck by a bolt of lighting. He hated how open Iroh was about admitting his heritage to Zuko. He just wanted to feel normal around the prince, but even when it came to hatching plans to hide from the Fire Nation, it seemed as though there was still a divide between him and his fire bending friends. 

After the three had successfully stolen and changed into outfits more suited towards earth benders, they began to set off towards the nearest town and agreed to make camp right outside of it, only going into town if food or other necessities were running short. Sokka had only managed to steal a tattered, beige, sleeveless jacket that didn’t button in the front, along with a pair of dirty grey shorts. Zuko, try as he might, could not tear his eyes away from Sokka’s chest as they walked through the dense forest. 

Sokka hated what had happened the night before. He couldn’t bring himself to speak to Zuko or Iroh due to the sheer embarrassment that flooded him whenever he opened his mouth. 

How could he have let himself--his body--do that? In the middle of _combat,_ no less?

He simply kept his eyes trained on the ground ahead of him, which Zuko was relieved about. He didn’t want to talk about the previous night either. While he had managed to block out the confusing thoughts that had flooded him the night prior, he was afraid that any mention of their fight would bring those thoughts back. 

Plus, he was able to sneak frequent, long looks at Sokka’s exposed chest. While Sokka wasn’t a fighter, he managed to keep in shape and build enough muscle to be considered attractive by most. Plus, his long, shaggy hair added an air of roughness to him. Sokka didn’t actually have this roughness, per se, but nobody needed to know that. 

Zuko justified these looks by thinking that he was just admiring his muscle structure. He was just...envious of how in shape the other boy was. Right?

\---

“My business is my business, young man! And none of yours!” Aang, who had been given a white wig and mustache made of Appa’s fur, yelled at the Omashu guards.   
“Just settle down and tell me who you are.” The guard, who was quite perplexed, managed to ask. 

“The name’s Bonzoo Pippenpadlopsicopolis the third, and these are my two granddaughters.” 

Suki and Katari smiled sheepishly at the guards. 

“Hi! June Pippenpadlopsicopolis. Good to meet you,” Katara walked forward, her shoulder touching Aang’s.

“A-and I’m Chen Pippenpullopsitopis…?” Suki winced, knowing she had horribly butchered the fake last name. Couldn’t they have just used a simpler one, like “Lee”? 

“S-Sorry, my wife is still new to the Pippenpadlopsicopolis family,” Katara covered, making Suki turn red. “She hasn’t quite figured out our last name yet.”

Suki pouted, feeling ashamed. She didn’t have to be taken care of by Katara. Moreover, why did she have to say they were married? Aang had already stated that June and Chen were supposed to be his granddaughters, wouldn’t the guard suspect something?

Thankfully, the guard simply narrowed his eyes and smiled towards Katara. “June, make sure your grandfather stays out of trouble, okay? And teach your wife to do the same.” 

_Great. Now every guard in Omashu will think I’m incompetent._ Suki glared at Katara, who simply shrugged as they walked into the city. 

As they made their way inside, Katara marveled at the height of the mail chutes. She couldn’t listen to what Aang was saying--something about how they worked?--all she could focus on was the fact that he expected her to ride down these gigantic tubes. 

“All I need is one ride on these, and then we can be on our way!” Aang started off towards the chutes before being stopped by Katara.

“Aang...I think this is too dangerous,” she whispered to him, “what if your disguise comes off while riding one of those things? O-or you have to air bend in order to avoid hitting a package? Or worse…” Katara thought for a moment, “...what if you do hit a package and get hurt?”  
Suki shared Katara’s worries. However, she was determined not to back down. She needed to show the two that she didn’t need to be taken care of, to be covered for. She confidently strolled past Aang and Katara before shooting a look behind her. 

“C’mon cowards,” she grinned, “we’re going for a ride.”

\---

By dusk, Sokka, Zuko, and Iroh had reached the outskirts of a small village. They dared not to go in: they had enough food and water for now. Instead, they set up camp in a dense part of the forest a few miles east, and Iroh lit a fire for the night. 

“Hey Zuko, I-I got you this flower…” Sokka had been trying desperately throughout the day to please the prince, to no avail. His jokes that normally earned a scoff or a smile fell flat, and his offers to help with capture plans were denied. 

“Thanks,” Zuko responded flatly, taking the bloom. It was quite pretty, though he didn’t dare admit it. Zuko didn’t want to show any emotion: he feared that if he smiled even the slightest bit, his feelings would come pouring out of him, unable to be shoved back inside. 

“Boys,” Iroh’s eyes glistened, lit up by the fire that lay between them. “I can sense the tension between the two of you. I told you two days ago to stop fighting, and I heard all of the commotion last night. What is going on?”  
“It’s nothing, really--”   
“Sokka got an erection while we were fighting.” Zuko couldn’t help the words that tumbled out, covering his mouth as soon as he finished speaking.

Sokka’s face immediately flushed, he had to hold himself back from punching the prince in the stomach. How could he just...rat him out like that? Zuko had to know that he didn’t want anyone knowing about this, right?

Or did Zuko just want to make more of a mockery out of him?

Sokka sighed. He was a useless Fire Nation citizen, a product of a failed mission, an unloved adoptee, and now the boy who got a boner on the Fire Lord’s son. Great. 

Iroh did something that neither of them expected; he burst out laughing. 

“Zuko…” Iroh coughed as his laughing fit petered out, “...you have to realize that the human body is extremely complex and that what happened to Sokka is nothing to be ashamed of.” 

“B-But what if it was triggered by me because I’m a guy?” He refused to indulge the idea that Sokka liked him personally. _That's weird._ He thought, pushing away the ideas of him holding hands with Sokka, kissing him, falling asleep in his arms, and the mixed feelings of warmth and discomfort that came with.

“And what is wrong with that?” Iroh grinned. “Our hearts know exactly what they want, and we cannot change what we feel. If Sokka likes men, who are we to judge?”  
Sokka couldn’t help but dig his fingers into the ground. He knew his uncle wasn’t going to reveal his feelings towards Zuko, but even still...this conversation was hard for him to listen to. 

Zuko was astounded. His father had always beaten the idea into him that he needed to find a good _wife,_ that a royal empire is not whole without a _queen._ When Ozai caught him holding hands with another boy, he was sent to his room and was denied his next few meals.

 _Uncle must have it wrong..._ Zuko thought, shaking his head. _I-I mean, Sokka can like whoever he wants, but I don’t think that I could ever like men. I mean, if it wasn’t wrong, why were we all told from such a young age that we should like girls?_

He side-eyed Sokka, who was staring intently into the flame. He would keep his friend’s secret, but he couldn’t help but see it as unnatural. 

As the flame began to fizzle out and Zuko started towards his tent, Sokka made his way over to Iroh. 

“Do you think..?” Sokka’s eyes begged for Iroh to tell him what he wanted to hear. 

“Sokka, you two have been friends for a long time. It is a possibility,” Sokka’s face lit up with joy, “however, even if he does like you, he has a lot of growing to do before he can face his feelings.”


	6. Reunited

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sokka meets his long lost sister, Suki has to defend Aang.

No more than a week had passed since they landed at the Earth Kingdom, and the dust was finally seeming to settle between Sokka and Zuko. 

“Sokka, the avatar and his friends were spotted in a village north of Omashu,” Zuko looked over his shoulder, his ponytail swinging in the breeze, as he gazed at his friend. “How far away are we from the city?”

“Uhh…” Sokka had settled for being Zuko’s minion in helping him find the avatar. For now, at least. Until he had the avatar and things could go back to normal. 

Or until Zuko forgot everything that had happened between them within the past two weeks. 

“...we’re not too far actually. I’d say we’ll be at Omashu within an hour, and then it’s smooth sailing from there.” Sokka smiled. He could feel the avatar within his and Zuko’s grasp. The faster Zuko got the avatar, the faster he’d start treating Sokka like a normal friend again, rather than a sidekick. 

_ Friendship, yeah... _ Sokka forced himself to look at the ground.  _...with Zu. That’d be nice. _

As the sky began to turn pink with sundown, the silhouette of Omashu came into view. They all let out a collective sigh, realizing that they’d have to lie to  _ more  _ people about who they were and what they were doing. 

As the guard asked them their name and business in Omashu, Iroh piped up first. “My name is Mushi, and this is my son Lee, and his orphaned friend Sokka.”

Thankfully, the Earth Kingdom had never seemed to notice that Sokka was the name of one of the children stolen from the Southern Water Tribe. If they did, then they certainly didn’t pick up on the name correlation. 

“That’s right!” Sokka forced a smile, though he inwardly cringed at the accuracy of Iroh's words. “Sokka. It’s a family name, from my mother’s side. My mother, the water bender. Z--uh, Lee's uncle lives in the town right past Omashu, so we just have to mosey through here...”

Zuko sighed. How could Sokka be so awkward? His lies were obvious to spot, even by the densest of people.

Thankfully, the Omashu guard was either denser than Zuko thought possible, or he just didn’t care. 

“Fine. Make your trip quick, alright? I don’t want to see your faces here come nightfall.” 

Iroh smiled, “thank you, kind sir! We will be on our way.”

\---

“Get out of my way, pipsqueak!” Suki shouted, shooting a glance towards the approaching Fire Nation soldiers. Katara’s friend, Haru, had been arrested for earth bending, and they were staging a fight so that Katara could get into prison to free him. 

“How dare you call me pipsqueak, you…” Katara fumbled. How was she supposed to insult Suki? It wasn’t that she considered insulting her  _ immoral,  _ it was just…

What was there to insult? 

_ Damnit, she’s just too pretty! _ Katara blushed,  _ I-I guess I have no choice… _

“...you have no right being this gorgeous out in plain sight! How do you think you make the rest of us feel?”

Suki turned red, her fake anger starting to turn real.  _ She’s just doing this for show, isn’t she? Well if she wants a show, I’ll give her a show!  _

“You think I’m gorgeous?” Suki stepped closer to Katara, raising her voice to further alert the Fire Nation soldiers, before touching Katara’s waist. 

“How do you think I feel, standing next to your beauty?” She stared Katara down.  _ That’ll teach her to make a mockery of me.  _

Katara just stood there, looking like a deer caught in headlights. She couldn’t tear her eyes away from Suki’s: had she really meant it? This couldn’t all be for show, could it?

The soldiers were starting to lose interest in the girls, so, with a huff, Suki murmured, “c’mon, give the signal…” into Katara’s ear. As she suppressed a shiver, the disappointing reality set in. 

_ Of course she didn’t mean it. I set her up for this, didn’t I?  _ Katara glared at the other girl,  _ I shouldn’t have gotten my hopes up. This whole idea was stupid.  _

“I’ll show you what’s pretty! My... _ earth bending powers! _ ” She paused, looking towards the rock where Aang was hiding. She cleared her throat. “I said...my  _ earth bending powers!”  _

As Aang finally focused enough to blow a gust of wind through the vent to lift up the nearby rock, the soldiers rushed over, immediately accusing Katara of earth bending. 

As she was being ushered towards the boat that would take her to Haru, a voice rang out.

“Wait!” 

Sokka, Iroh, and Zuko burst into the clearing, eying Suki and Katara. 

“We’re looking for the avatar,” Zuko, whipped off the conical that had been concealing his identity. “I’m Prince Zuko, son of Firelord Ozai. I demand you hand him over.”

“I’m sorry sir, we haven’t seen the avatar around here, at least not today…”

As they were talking, Suki made her way over to the rock where Aang was hiding. As she casually leaned on it, she murmured, “run! I’ll take care of these guys.”

As Aang sped off towards the barn where they had slept the night prior, Suki rejoined Katara, standing by her side. 

“If you want the avatar,” she smirked, pulling out her fans, “you’ll have to get past me.”

Sokka had refused to look at Katara. She looked too familiar, too much like him. However, as the guards pulled her away from Suki, he couldn’t help but notice the scared look in her eyes. 

Zuko lunged towards Suki and immediately sent bursts of flame towards her. 

“Sokka, come on!” Zuko grunted, narrowly avoiding the flame that she had sent flying back towards him. As Zuko threw a punch at her, she grabbed his arm and kicked his legs out from under him before placing a foot on his stomach. 

Katara’s blood curdled as she heard Sokka’s name come from his mouth. Could it really be? The infamous Sokka, the curious, kind, brave four year old who had been stolen from her tribe oh-so-many years ago?

Before she could help herself, she wrenched her arms away from the soldiers and tackled her brother.   
“Sokka!” Her eyes were welling up with tears as she scanned the older boy, “is it really you? Mom and dad have told me so much about you...is the Fire Nation keeping you as a prisoner? We can find a way to get you home, and--”

Sokka panicked and hit her over the head with his boomerang. Guilt began to flood him. 

_ Why do I feel guilty?  _ He thought, backing away from Katara’s limp body as the soldiers closed in again,  _ I don't have a family. I don't need a family, not with Iroh and Zuko. She doesn’t even know me.  _

“Sokka! Hurry it up!” Zuko grunted as Suki’s heel dug deeper into his stomach. 

“Right! Coming.” He rushed towards Suki, aiming to throw his boomerang at her head, but Suki launched a fan at him before he could release the throw. 

“Ah! Sweet agni…” He screeched as the fan slashed his arm, He dropped his weapon and blood spattered it once it hit the ground. Sokka stumbled backwards; the ground seemed to be moving towards him, and the sky was spinning. 

Was this the news about his sister, or just the injury? 

_ It's just the injury...I don’t care about...whatsherface…  _ he thought, plopping down to closely examine the wound. It was a deep cut, and as he held it over his body, his shorts soon became drenched with blood.

“Coward…” Zuko grunted, only causing Suki to grind her foot into him harder. 

“Sokka!” Katara stumbled to her feet and wobbled over to her brother, the guards and Iroh closely trailing her. 

“Hold on, I can use my water to heal him…” She explained to Iroh. He nodded, handing her a canister of water that Zuko, Sokka, and Iroh had been using on their journey. 

As she began to bend the water over the slice, Sokka’s skin began to grow back and his blood began to stop spilling, Sokka let out a groan and looked up at his sister. 

“A-are you o--” 

Katara couldn’t even finish before Sokka pushed her aside and got to his feet. “I don’t need your help. Don’t  _ ever  _ touch me again.” Sokka looked up to the soldiers, “take her away. I don’t care what you do to her. Just get her away from me.”

Katara let out a scream as she was hauled away from Sokka, and Zuko, who noticed that Suki was distracted, launched a burst of flame towards her. 

With a startled gasp, Suki stumbled backwards, fleeing in the direction of the barn. 

_ I hope that was enough time for Aang to get Appa. He and I need to leave, but...what about Katara?  _ She couldn’t help but worry.  _ She chose her fate when she decided to go after her new boyfriend. I can’t save her if she gets stuck in prison, not after all of the stunts she pulled with that Fire Nation boy Sokka.  _

Appa emerged from the clouds, dipping down from the sky to allow Suki to hop on, before flying away. 

“Aang,” Suki gasped for breath, “you need to get out of here. We’ll find somewhere to rest for the night, and I’ll go back for Katara tomorrow.”  
Aang shot her a nervous glance, “are you sure? What if those Fire Nation guys come back?”

Suki’s eyes hardened.  _ Katara may be a dumbass, but I can’t let her die.  _ “I can take them.”

Zuko cursed as he watched Appa fly off with the avatar and the girl. “We need to track them.” He began rushing back towards Omashu; he wanted to get back to his boat as soon as possible and hopefully find a new lead for where the avatar was heading. 

As Zuko’s figure faded, Iroh approached Sokka and began to rub his back soothingly. “That girl seemed to know you. Care about you, even.”

“Yeah, so?” He sighed. This was all too confusing. He hated his past, hated the people who were trying to reconnect with him. Couldn’t they see that he had moved on? 

“You must be kind to them, Sokka. One cannot fully accept the reality of losing a child.” Iroh’s eyes glazed over as he began to think of Lu Ten. 

“Aw, 'Roh, I’m sorry. I will, I promise.” Sokka pulled him into a hug. 

_ I’ll try to be nice to them, even if it’s just for you. _


	7. Pirates and power struggles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Katara gets jealous of how controlling Suki's being, Iroh stops in a nearby market to look for a missing lotus tile

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> //hey guys! As you've probably noticed, I'm loosely following canon, and I skipped both of the winter solstice episodes. I'll be doing this occasionally, but just know, that the events that happened in the skipped episodes happened in my fic as well for the most part! I just didn't cover them because they'd mostly be the same as canon, and I figured it'd be boring to just...reiterate what the show already showed us. Anyways, thanks for reading! Much love <3

Sokka hummed, sitting cross-legged in the control room with Iroh and his esteemed friends. He was proud to be with them; he had a way with older folk, and his charm seemed not to have fallen on deaf ears. With their help, Sokka was even able to hold his own in a game of pai sho.

“What is the meaning of this? Why are we changing course?” Zuko burst into the room, a whirlwind of smoke and fury trailing him. 

“I am sorry Zuko, but the matter is urgent,” Iroh said in a somber tone, not taking his gaze up from the pai sho board. 

“'Roh lost his lotus tile,” Sokka explained, “and without it he can’t beat me.” 

Iroh laughed, “not so fast! While the tile is essential to my strategy, I think I will be able to find a way to best you, even without my most important piece.”

Zuko narrowed his eyes, “it’s just a stupid tile, uncle!” As he spoke, flame flickered out of his mouth, lapping at the cool air.

“Zuko, you are underestimating the tile’s value. I only need ten minutes to check with the merchants at this nearby port, and then you can keep looking for the avatar and I can continue on with my life.” Iroh pushed a piece forward, causing Sokka to groan. He had just been beaten once again. 

\---

“I...think that’s enough practicing for today.” Katara couldn’t help but glare at Aang. How was he so talented? Water bending was supposed to be _her_ thing, she was supposed to be teaching him...but how could she teach him when he was already better than her?  
Suki, who had been taking a nap on Appa while they floated around the lake, had been bowled over by the gigantic wave that Aang had summoned. She came up for air, sputtering, her hair clinging to her face. 

“ _I_ think we have more important things to worry about other than practicing…” Suki jerked her head towards their supplies, which were being taken downstream. “Let’s check to see if there’s a port nearby. Maybe we can pick up some more supplies?”

As Aang nodded enthusiastically, Katara couldn’t help but stifle a groan. Not only was her apprentice better than her already, but Suki was also acting like she was in charge again! If she couldn’t teach Aang, and she couldn’t manage the group, what use did she have?    
“Fine. What should we do if there isn’t a port?” Katara challenged Suki, who was heaving herself out of the water. 

“I’m not sure,” Suki shrugged. She was trying her hardest not to anger Katara. She only joined them to protect them, not to cause rifts. “Maybe we could keep flying until we reach a nearby town? We could always buy supplies there, and maybe a nice family could take us in for the night.”

_ Why does she always have an answer for everything?  _ Katara wondered as she heaved herself onto the soaking wet bison,  _ and why are her answers always good? _

“Don’t worry, Katara!” Aang murmured once they were in the air, “she’s just trying to help.”   
“Well, we don’t need her help. And I certainly don’t want it.” 

“Are you sure?” Aang queried, “she really helped us when we were fighting off those Fire Nation guys. And you gotta admit, she has a point about finding a nearby port.”   
Katara groaned, “One of them wasn’t even Fire Natio-” She didn’t want to share what she had learned about Sokka. Not yet, anyway. “Whatever. J-just practice your water bending forms.”

  
  


“Woah…” Aang sighed, looking around the inside of the boat that he and his friends had been ushered into From floor to ceiling, it was lined with exotic, eccentric goods. A monkey statue with rubies for eyes glared at them, and while Katara was caught in its trance, Suki had to step in to help Aang from a skeevy buyer. 

“Sorry, but Momo isn’t for sale,” Suki said, stepping in front of him while smiling as politely as she could. 

“Wh-? Right!” Katara fumbled. She hS managed to pry her eyes away from the statue to pipe in, but Suki had already taken care of it. 

_ Spirits, why can’t I be the one to protect Aang for once?  _ She thought, recounting how she had gotten trapped in the spirit world and needed Aang to come and save her. 

A collection of scrolls caught her eye. After picking up and gazing at a water bending scroll, she began to formulate an idea.    
_ If I get this scroll, I’ll be able to teach Aang with it!  _ Her eyes lit up. That's _ something Suki can’t do. Besides, these moves look advanced. I bet Aang will have more trouble with them. _

“Sorry. This scroll’s not for sale anymore.” One of the barterers snatched the scroll from Katara’s hands, rolled it back up, and placed it in its respective shelf. “An Earth Kingdom nobleman already made a bid. Unless, of course, you happened to have 200 gold pieces?”   
Suki’s expression darkened. “You’re pirates, aren’t you? I should’ve known…” She shook her head and grabbed Aang by the collar before dragging him towards the exit. “Come on, Aang. Let’s go somewhere else.”   
“H-hey! I haven’t even tried haggling yet!” He protested. Katara noticed that all of the pirates’ eyes were on Suki and Aang, the former trying unsuccessfully to drag the latter out of the store.

_ This is my chance!  _ Without looking down, Katara snatched the scroll and slipped it up her dress sleeve. 

“Suki’s right, Aang. Let’s go.” With a shove of the door, Katara was off and leading the other two down the ramp back to the shore. 

“Come oooon, I could’ve actually gotten you that scr--”

Aang’s words were cut off by shouts from the pirates above.    
“Come back here! _You_ took it, didn’t you? You and your punk friends!” A pirate shouted upon emerging from the shop. He was pointing directly at Aang.

Aang and Suki exchanged a confused look at the pirate’s words. Slowly, they turned to Katara, whose expression morphed into horror at the realization that she had just endangered them all and could potentially lose her precious scroll.

The pirate led his friends down from the ship and drew his weapon. As he whipped out his sword, his cronies followed before closing in on the three. 

“Listen, we’ll give you back your scroll as soon as you...RUN!” Suki stalled before breaking out into a sprint, her friends hot on her heels. 

The pirates began to chase them as Suki, Katara, and Aang crisscrossed through the different stores and markets. 

“Good thing...I bought...new fans…” Suki managed to huff when she noticed two pirates closing in. 

She stopped briefly before whipping out her fan. With a flick of her wrist, she sent it flying through the air until it slashed horizontally through three of the pirates' stomachs. 

Suki decided it would be safer to leave the bloody fan where it was. As she continued running, she smiled to herself.  _ I bet Katara’s water bending can’t do that.  _

Katara was, however, able to spill some water, freeze it to ice, and cause the pirates to slip and fall on their faces, landing in a big pile.   
Upon approaching a cabbage seller, Aang sent the man’s cart flying backward so that it crashed into most of the pirates that had managed to continue tracking them. 

The cries of anger that came from the seller quickly faded as the gang turned into a corner, realizing that somehow they were still being tracked. 

With horror, they realized that they had come onto a dead end. Aang readied his staff, Suki her fans, and Katara took a water bending stance. 

“You want this?” Katara let the scroll slide into her hands, “you’ll have to fight me for it.” 

\---

Among the commoners in the marketplace were Sokka, Zuko, and Iroh. Iroh had just emerged from a store empty-handed. 

“I checked every shop, and there isn’t a single lotus tile here!” Iroh wore a look of disappointment. 

Sokka approached the two, holding a vial containing a green liquid. “Sorry about that, Iroh. On the bright side, I got this cool lookin’ juice, so the trip wasn’t a complete waste!” 

“Let me see…” Iroh grabbed the vial and took a swig. A few moments passed before his eyes widened and his pupils dilated. “Oh, wow...that is nice…”

“What in agni’s name did you just give him?” Zuko grabbed the bottle, searching it for some sort of label or ingredients list. 

“Well, the shopkeeper told me it's called cactus juice. It’s apparently supposed to relax you, and make you have cool visions and stuff.” Sokka shrugged with a smile. “I dunno, it seemed cool.”   
Zuko facepalmed. How was he supposed to get anything done when the one adult in this situation was high off of his ass? “Great. Now we’re stuck here for who knows how long, and the only thing we bought was juice that makes you hallucinate!”

“Well…” Iroh let out a goofy giggle as soldiers began to haul crates upon crates of items back to their ship, “I may have bought just a few things…” upon seeing the Sungi horn he had purchased, Iroh began to sway, as if he was listening to music. “Boys...you must come and dance with me...can you see the music? These notes are crisp and clean, like a good cup of jasmine tea…”

“I’m going to try and find a cure for...whatever this is,” Zuko waved his hand in Iroh’s direction, “Sokka, stay with him and make sure he doesn’t get into trouble.”

“Aye aye, captain!” Sokka grinned, saluting him as he walked towards a nearby shop. 

It just so happened, in fact, that the shop Zuko wandered into was the one that was run by the pirates. The same pirates that had attempted to capture Aang and his friends now sat in the shop, beaten and bloodied from their last battle. 

“Hey,” one of the pirates grunted, “you seen a bald monk around here? Traveling with two girls?”

Zuko forgot about his mission to help Iroh. It couldn’t be. Could it?   
Maybe this journey hadn't been useless after all. 

“Did this monk have arrows on his head?” 

The pirate nodded, “the little punk stole our water bending scroll. You know where he could be?”

After thinking for a moment, Zuko slowly nodded.

“Come with me.”

  
  


“You sure you don’t want to search the woods?” The lead pirate asked as the Fire Nation boat cruised through the ocean. 

“We cannot search the trees, not when they are watching us with such contempt.” Iroh murmured absently, his pupils still dilated. 

Zuko, ignoring his uncle, shook his head. “If they stole a water bending scroll, they’re bound to be by a nearby lake or river. There’s a small clearing near here that would be the perfect hiding spot.”

\---

Night had fallen as Suki, Katara, and Aang curled up among their newly-bought quilts. Katara could still feel the aftershocks of emotion wracking her; she had screamed at Aang for being better at bending than her, almost driving him to tears. 

“Listen, Katara--” Suki began.

“You know what? No. I don’t want to hear more preaching from you.” Katara couldn’t stand any more lectures, any more ‘i’m better than you’ comments from Suki. “You think you’re better at protecting Aang than me, and you think you can run the group better than me, and that’s fine. Just...just stop making me feel so useless!” She couldn’t stop her voice from rising. “You come in here, and you’re a warrior whose so good at fighting, e-even without bending...what am I supposed to do? I can barely water bend, and I can’t protect Aang when you’re always doing it--”

“Woah woah woah,” Suki furrowed her brow, “who said anything about leading the group? You’re Aang’s mentor. I’m just trying to help a little. I didn’t mean to make you feel like that...I mean, you know you’re not useless, right? Without your water bending we probably wouldn’t have escaped from the pirates.”

“Yeah!” Aang piped up, “and without you, I wouldn’t be able to learn water bending at all, or get to travel to the north pole!” 

A feeble smile formed on Katara’s lips. She supposed they all had a point…

“Thanks, guys,” She began, “Now...let’s get some sleep.”

As she listened to the others drift into slumber, she couldn’t help but sneak a peek at the stolen scroll. 

It wouldn’t hurt to go out and practice her bending, right? 

  
  


\---

“I feel so...dizzy…” Iroh held his head as morning began to fill the sky. 

“Don’t worry, you can go lie down. We’ve got it from here.” Sokka couldn’t pry his eyes away from Katara, whom they had captured the night prior. 

As Iroh wandered into the woods, Zuko began pacing back and forth, anxiously awaiting the pirates’ return and the treasure they would bring with them.

“Sokka, get away from them!” She knew that her brother had endured years and years of brainwashing, but she couldn’t let go of this hope that flickered inside her, hope that her brother still had some memory of his life before capture. “Please, you have to remember mom and dad...right? I-I see you still have your boomerang!”

Sokka had promised to be nice to her, for Iroh’s sake. He clenched his teeth, instinctively touching his boomerang at the mention of it. “I...I’m a different man than when I was captured.” He said slowly. “You have to understand that I was a kid when they took me. Iroh’s actually a nice guy. He’s the only reason why I’m not tearing you to shreds right now.”

Zuko grabbed Sokka by the hair and yanked him backward, out of earshot. 

“Stop talking to the enemy!” He hissed, “you can’t get attached to her. I can see it in your eyes that you already are.”

“Wh-what? I…” Sokka sighed. “I mean, if someone comes up to you saying they’re your estranged sister, how can you not get attached?”   
Zuko hesitated. He had no idea how Sokka could possibly be feeling, or what situation he was in. Nevertheless, he knew that he had to keep his distance from Katara.

“Iroh told me to be kind,” Sokka continued, “and if he permits it, what’s the harm?”

“Uncle is a crazy old man. Don’t believe everything he says.” Zuko returned to Katara as the pirates emerged from the woods, carrying Aang and Suki. 

“Listen…” Suki growled at the pirates, “my friend here is the avatar, and I’m a  _ Kiyoshi warrior.  _ A part of the most elite group of warriors in the nation. I think selling me and my friend here as personal bodyguards, or-or curios, even, would make you a lot more than that stupid scroll.” 

The pirates’ interest has piqued, causing Zuko to huff in dismay. “Don’t listen to her! She doesn’t know what’s on this scroll.”

“Just imagine…” Suki said, making eye contact with her captors as a smug smile spread across her face, “...selling us to Fire Lord Ozai  _ himself. _ The profit would be enough to last three lifetimes.”   
Zuko lunged forward. He was sick and tired of Suki’s games. One of the pirates stepped towards him, pushing him away from Suki. 

“Back off, buddy. She’s ours now.”   
“D-Don’t you want the scroll?” Zuko sputtered. He couldn’t lose the avatar now!

“Yeah, c’mon guys. This scroll is as rare as it gets! You went through the trouble of kidnapping three people for it!” Sokka tried to back his friend up, earning a glare from Zuko. 

“It sounds like you still want these two…” The pirates unsheathed their blades. 

Zuko opened his palm, igniting a large flame. At this cue, Sokka grabbed his boomerang and readied himself. 

“Yeah,” Zuko spat, "we do."

As a fight began to break out between the pirates and Zuko and Sokka, Suki managed to reach behind her, grabbed a fan from her back pocket and sawed her ties free. She then grabbed Aang and ran away from the chaos. 

Momo had untied Katara, who was waiting for the other two by the Fire Nation ship. As soon as they reunited, they boarded the boat and began to take off. 

\---

“Thanks, Suki” Aang grinned, sitting cross-legged on Appa. The three had managed to destroy the Fire Nation ship and escape with the water bending scroll, narrowly escaping the pirates. “You really saved me back there!”

Katara’s heart softened. She supposed she couldn’t stay mad at Suki, not after how useful she was to the group…

_ And...I guess she’s nice company too... _ Katara sighed, settling herself so that she was leaning against Suki’s back, staring up at the stars. 


	8. Cactus Juice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zuko, Iroh and Sokka drink the rest of the cactus juice (mini-chapter)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> //I figured a mini-chapter would be a nice break from the fast-paced story. Much love! <3

Soft waves gently rocked the Fire Nation boat, which had set sail just after sunset. The gentle rocking was enough to put Sokka, Zuko, and Iroh asleep. However, despite the fact that the moon was smiling down on them, they couldn’t go to sleep yet. 

They were on a mission.

Not to catch the avatar, to find Iroh’s lotus tile,which, by the way, had been in his sleeve all along, or to restore Zuko’s honor.

They were determined to drink as much cactus juice as possible without dying. 

The three were sitting cross-legged in a circle inside of Iroh’s cabin, the bottle lying between them. 

“Now listen, boys,” Iroh’s eyes darted between them as he spoke, “this juice is not something to mess around with. It alters your state of consciousness like nothing I have ever experienced before.”

“That’s just what we need after a stressful day!” Sokka snatched the bottle and brought it up to his lips, taking about three sips before passing it to Zuko. 

“This tastes disgusting. Why are we doing this again?” 

“It is not about the taste, Zuko. It is about the experience!” Iroh took a few long swigs, effectively emptying the bottle, before a grin spread across his face. “Let the fun begin!”

“Now, listen. I am not saying that I would give my life for you two, however…” Iroh began tearing up, “...you boys are my world. I would do anything for you.”  
Sokka slung his arms around his dad, “Aw, Iroh...Roh Roh...you're the best…” When he pulled away, though, he saw Zuko’s face on Iroh's body. 

“Come give Iroh a hug!” The voice that came from Zuko’s mouth-iroh’s mouth?- sounded just like Zuko. 

Sokka screeched and lurched away, huddling in the corner of the cabin. 

“Come on, Sokka. We all know your dirty, dirty little secrets…” Iroh approached him, though his face still looked exactly like Zuko’s. “...you love your birth family. The enemy. How do you think I'll feel when I find out? Do you think you’ll still travel with me and Uncle? You’ll become an even bigger disgrace than me. And I’m an _exiled prince_.” Despite the fact that the voice and face were on Iroh’s body, it was clear that the hallucination was referring to Zuko. 

Sokka covered his ears and began rocking back and forth, “Stop,  _ stop!  _ I don’t love them! I don’t love them! I’m a good person!”

The real Zuko was watching his friend’s meltdown from the other side of the cabin. He wanted to stand up and talk to him about it, but he found he couldn’t move. At all. 

“Help..?” He croaked, gazing down at his fingers, “c’mon...work!” 

“They won’t work as long as you keep acting like this, fool.” Ozai’s voice rang out behind him, and Zuko could  _ feel  _ his father’s presence sneaking up on him. 

_ Are hallucinations supposed to be this...real?  _ Zuko thought as Ozai strolled to stand in front of his son, glaring down at him. 

“Look at you,” he spat, “you’re weak. You haven’t made any progress in capturing the avatar or his friends, and the only people who still tolerate you are that sad excuse for a general and that...water tribe scum,” Ozai sniffed before continuing, “who, by the way, is trying to... _ contaminate  _ you.”

“What? Sokka’s clean, father...he washed his hands before we left…” Zuko hardly knew what was going on. He knew that this was a hallucination, but he couldn’t help but feel defensive of Iroh, “...and Iroh is a good man, look at...how he almost conquered Ba Sing Se…”

Ozai snorted in contempt, “yes, almost. You should know by now that ‘almost’ isn’t good enough for Fire Nation Royalty.” Zuko couldn’t help but stare up in confusion at his father. Wasn’t drinking this juice supposed to be fun? Why was he hallucinating about Ozai?

“You know very well what I meant by contaminated. He.. _.wants  _ you, Zuko. It’s disgusting,” Ozai suppressed a shiver before continuing, “you’re getting soft for him. You need a lady if you want to rule the Nation, not a man. He’s turning you into...one of his kind.”

What? 

Zuko wasn’t gay. He didn’t think so, anyways.

Sure, he would do anything for Sokka, but isn’t that how friends are supposed to feel about each other? And maybe his vision occasionally drifts to his jawline, or his pristine blue eyes, or his long, nimble fingers…

_ You can’t be gay. You can’t rule the Fire Nation and be gay,  _ Zuko reminded himself,  _ but Sokka’s probably gay...why is father angry about that? _

He couldn’t bring himself to argue with his father, even if it was just a hallucination. He knew that hallucinations could trigger all of the five senses similar in the same way that reality did, and he didn’t want to find out what would happen if Ozai decided to punish him for speaking out. 

“Very well, I’ll remain just...friends with Sokka.” Zuko murmured, his eyes finally closing. “Just...friends…”

  
  


The last person to pass out was Iroh. 

“Oh, you want to show me to your cabin? Well, if you insist, pretty...lady…” He stumbled around the cabin before falling to the ground, next to Sokka.

“General Iroh? Prince Zuko?” One of the soldiers who was manning the ship walked into the cabin and was greeted by three limp bodies and an empty bottle. 

“O-Okay...I’ll just leave you all to rest, then…”


	9. Stranded

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While trying to make money, Katara gets stranded out at sea. Sokka finds out how Zuko got his scar.

Slowly but surely, Suki was growing tired of Katara. She was constantly trying to one-up her, and for what? Who was she trying to impress? Suki knew that Katara felt threatened by her, but even still, the lengths she was going to try to gain “control” over the group was baffling. 

When they encountered Jet, Katara demanded that they stay with him and his group, despite all of the  _ obvious  _ red flags. Suki scoffed at the memory, thinking about how Katara followed him around like a lovesick puppy, and it was Suki who ended up having to foil his plan to flood an innocent Earth Kingdom village. 

Additionally, Katara had tried to encourage the divides between the cleanly, proper Gan Jins and the brash, strong Zhangs. Despite her and Aang’s attempts to try and unite the two groups while they were crossing the great divide, Katara had sided with the Gan Jings and firmly believed that the Zhangs were in the wrong, despite not knowing for fact what had happened between the two groups. In the end, Aang was able to unite the two groups on his own, using a fabricated story about what had really happened between them. However, Katara’s behavior had infuriated Suki beyond belief.

As they flew down to a stretch of markets bordering the sea, Suki couldn’t help but sigh. She supposed that this journey was new and hard for all of them, so she decided to cut Katara a break. Besides, she had only screwed up twice: isn’t the third time the charm?

\---

“There is a big storm coming.” Iroh was sniffing the air and gazing across the clear ocean. 

“Fine, let’s change our course. Can we stop at a nearby market? I could use some more food,” Sokka smiled. He had been leaning against the edge of the ship and whittling a new spear out of some scrap wood he’d found in the back of the ship.

“Are you two out of your minds? The sky is completely clear!” Zuko stopped his pacing and approached the two. 

“Just listen to Iroh, you know he’s always right…” Sokka mumbled. He had been trying not to fight with Zuko, but how could Sokka not object when he was being so irritating?

“We must head southwest. The storm is coming from the north.” Iroh acted as if he didn’t hear Zuko’s protests.

“Zuko, you do realize there are people on this ship other than us, right? Do you really want to risk everyone’s safety just for a  _ chance  _ to capture the avatar?” Sokka shot him a pointed look. 

Zuko grabbed Sokka by the hair and yanked him up from where he was sitting, forcing him to drop his weapon. 

“No one’s individual safety matters when it comes to finding the avatar,” he hissed, smoke billowing after each word. 

After Zuko stormed below deck, Iroh approached Sokka. “You know he means no--”   
“I know, Zuko’s just a whiny baby, he still values me, yadda yadda yadda.” Sokka slung an arm around his father. “At least I still have you.”

\--- 

“Katara, what’s the point in stopping here if we don’t have any money?” They had landed in a fishing port, however, Suki had quickly realized that they didn’t even have a single copper piece to spend.

“Well…” Katara stared out at the ocean, “I bet I could use my water bending to get us some food!” 

A flash of movement drew Katara’s eyes to the shore; a fish was flicking back and forth just beyond the docks. Katara immediately entrapped it in a bubble and bent it out of the water and into her hands, earning applause from Aang and Suki. 

“I guess that’s dinner,” Suki had to admit that Katara’s skills were growing better and better each day. 

“Yeah, but what if--” Aang was cut off by the sound of a couple bickering in the distance. 

“Fine, if you don’t want to haul fish, I’ll hire someone else to do it for me,” An older man yelled to his wife, “and I'll pay them double what I paid you!”

“I’ll go! I can help with my water bending!” Katara stepped forward and was immediately accepted by the man.

“Wait...there had to be a reason why the woman didn’t want to go with him, right?” Suki turned towards Aang as she spoke, “we should go and see. We don’t want Katara to get in over her head.”

They jogged off towards the woman while Katara boarded the man’s boat. 

“What do you want?” The lady asked, turning to face the two.

“Why didn’t you want to help that man on his fishing trip? It sounded as if you usually help him; what sets today apart from any other day?” Aang queried, 

“Why, there’s going to be a terrible storm! Nobody believes me, but my joints are telling me so! I suggest you two go ‘n find your friend before she sets off because no one with a brain would head out willingly right now.” However, as Aang and Suki turned to go fetch Katara, the pair realized that she had already set off.

\---

“I told you! 'Roh was right!” The Fire Nation ship was approaching a swath of dark clouds. 

“I’d challenge you to another duel, Sokka, but I think you’d like that too much,” Zuko retorted.

Sokka crumpled at his words. Zuko still hadn’t let that go? Were they not...normal again? 

Would they ever be?

“Boys, it was simply a lucky gu--”

“I’m sorry we can’t all be as cold-hearted as you, Zuko. Some of us know how to accept love.” Sokka was reaching his breaking point again. He would worry about losing his sense of normality with Zuko, but he made it clear that they’d never gained that back after the duel. “Do you know what it’s like for me? To feel so worthless...to feel like everyone hates me? You were one of the few people I could count on, but clearly I misplaced my trust.” Sokka stormed down to the cabin, Iroh trailing closely behind. 

“Sokka, do you know about Zuko’s agni kai against his father?”

Zuko had fought his father? Sokka shook his head. He knew he had been exiled from the Fire Nation somehow, but he wasn’t sure of the details. 

“You must know that Zuko has not had it easy. Especially within the past three years. Let me explain to you why he was banished from the Fire Nation. Perhaps that will allow you to, ah, forgive some of his actions…”

\---

“My people needed me...and I was gone! I’m supposed to help everyone but I just led them into a war!” Aang and Suki were huddled in a cave, the former explaining how he ended up trapped in the iceberg for the past hundred years.

“Aang, I know this must be hard. I can’t even begin to understand how you’re feeling,” Suki reached out to touch Aang’s shoulder, but the boy shied away. “However, I do know that you can’t change the past, and when you ran away you...you were just a kid! That’s a normal reaction to having the world’s weight put on your shoulders.” Suki smiled, but Aang only mumbled a half-hearted agreement.

“Besides, you hadn’t even begun training yet. At best, you’d have been decent at water bending by the time the Fire Nation attacked your people. Do you think that would’ve been enough?” Aang shook his head at Suki’s words. 

“Exactly. You would have died with everyone else, and then where would we be? At least now, you’re with us, and you have an actual shot at saving the world. You’re giving people hope, Aang. If it weren't for you hiding in that iceberg, you’d be dead.”

Aang couldn’t help but smile; he knew Suki was right. He cuddled into her arm, which had been hovering at his shoulder, and decided to rest for a bit.

Suki, however, couldn’t rest. She couldn’t stop thinking about Katara, and each crack of lightning and boom of thunder struck fear into her heart. 

_ I suppose need to save her, but I can’t do it without Aang,  _ she sighed,  _ I suppose I’ll let him rest for a few minutes. We need to leave soon, though. Before the storm gets any worse.  _

\---

“WHAT?” Sokka couldn’t even begin to process what his father was telling him. “But Zuko always told me he was in a training accident...w-why didn’t you bring me to the agni kai? I could’ve helped! Or I could’ve at least, y’know, been there for him…”  
Iroh shook his head. “That would have only made things worse for him. If you had watched him get stripped of his honor, he would never treat you the same again.”

_ Well, he’s already not treating me right.  _ Now wasn’t the time for those thoughts, Sokka realized. Now was the time to support his friend. 

“Well, can I go talk to him about it? Go offer my support or--”

“The best thing you can do is forgive his harsh words and his tunnel vision. He must realize that his life does not lie in the palm of his father’s hand.” Iroh stood up, indicating that Sokka should do the same. “However, he must figure this out on his own. For now, the only thing we can do is go out and support his mission.”

\---

“Aang, wake up,” Suki murmured, “I think we should go and try to find Katara. I have a bad feeling about this storm.”

Aang nodded blearily before standing up. He and Suki mounted Appa before heading off into the stormy night. 

  
  


“I...I think I can see them!” Aang peered into the watery darkness and saw a dark mass being shaken like a ragdoll by the waves. “Full speed ahead, Appa!”

“Please, I…” Katara was trying to bend the waves away from her, but they were too strong. “I can’t die now! I have so much left to do! I need to help Aang get to the North Pole, and--” 

She screamed as a wave nearly knocked her off the ship, “I still haven’t told Suki how I feel, okay? I need to tell her how I feel!” 

As she yelled these words into the void, Appa came swooping down from the sky. Aang jumped off the boat, instructed the fisherman and Katara to hang on to the rope he was holding, and air bent his way back up to Appa, dragging the two with him. 

\---

"Help!" Sokka had gone to the helm to try and steer the boat. He just wanted to  _ help _ ; why was it that everything he did seemed to turn horrible? 

He was hanging by a ledge, dangling towards the floor of the boat, which was about twenty feet below him. 

“Somebody! Anybody!” As Sokka scrambled to hold on, Zuko immediately began climbing the ladder towards him. Once he had reached about four feet off the ground, Sokka lost his grip and began to fall. 

Zuko, without thinking, jumped off of the ladder, caught Sokka in his arms, and plummeted to the floor. 

They were both too tired to move. Zuko’s back was on fire, and it didn’t help that Sokka was sprawled out against him. 

_ Whatever. At least he’s safe.  _ Zuko couldn’t even be bothered to stand up, not even when he saw the flying bison in the distance, racing towards safety. 


	10. A big update (authors note)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> this isn't a chapter, just outlining some big changes that'll be occurring from here on out.

When I came up with the idea for this fic, it was 11:00 at night, I was excited beyond belief, and I didn't think about the implications of some of the things I wrote. It's been brought to my attention that what I'm writing could be read as incest, due to Sokka and Zuko being adopted cousins. That's the absolute _last thing I want._

So, I went back and edited the chapters! In case you don't want to reread them all, here's a debrief:

Iroh is not Sokka's adopted father anymore! He was always a present father figure in Sokka's life, but never officially adopted him. He lived with the Asao's for most of his childhood, who mostly ignored him. I may add in a sibling or two who he left behind in the Fire Nation!  
Any reference Iroh has made to them being a family has been removed. Iroh and Sokka (and Zuko, though he won't admit it) consider themselves a found family. Many people who are friends or otherwise aren't a part of an official, legal family do this, however, I still deemed Iroh calling them all a family a little weird since in my first draft Iroh was going to adopt Sokka.

Bit of a spoiler, but you should have picked this up by now: There are multiple references to Sokka and Zuko saying they "love each other like a brother". Even if I never included the "Iroh adopting Sokka" thing, I would've included this line. They don't actually have sibling-like feelings for each other, they're just trying to rationalize what romantic feelings they do have. In fact, I've read online that some other LGBTQ+ folks have rationalized their feelings the same way before they came out! This isn't nearly as important, but Sokka has sisters now! He was never really close with them, but they may come back later on.   
  


I'm so sorry if I've made anyone uncomfortable with my content. I'll continue to update on Fridays, and if anything else in the series is bothering you, please shoot me a DM!


	11. Aunt Wu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zuko and Sokka find a brief moment of peace, the gaang gets their fortunes read.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I'm sorry about the messiness of everything, and how abrupt Sokka's change in backstory was. Truth be told, I couldn't keep writing the fic if I had kept Iroh as his adopted father. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Sokka had tried not to think about his sisters. He tried in the same way he tried not to think about Ma and Pop back in the Fire Nation. Most of his sisters had never really cared for him; they preferred playing with one another and left him to his own devices. One of his sisters, however, made an effort when he was a kid. 

“Hi, there!” She had trotted over, away from the other girls, towards where he was sitting. “Whatcha doing?”

“Oh, I’m trying to see all the shapes in the clouds,” Sokka had flopped onto his back and pointed upwards. “See, this one looks like a Elephant rat! And that one looks like a badgerfrog, and that one waaaay over there looks like a koala sheep!” He giggled. He was happy to have someone to talk to, even if he barely knew her name. 

Come to think of it, they were siblings...why couldn’t he remember her name?

Sokka stirred, his dream of his sister fading, and he found himself lying across Zuko’s chest. 

Sokka felt tempted to succumb to his warmth and comfort, but he knew that Zuko would be angry if he found Sokka lying across him. 

That is until his gaze traveled upwards, and he realized that Zuko was fully awake, staring up at the cabin ceiling.

Zuko knew he should care. His instincts were telling him to shove Sokka off and to scream at him until his lungs burst. Except, he physically couldn’t. Not with his back being sprained.

And he was kind of glad about that. 

“Hello,” Zuko’s eyes traveled down towards Sokka, “I fixed your shoulder. It was dislocated.”

He had dislocated his shoulder? He couldn’t remember anything except the fall, and a pair of arms catching him. 

“Thanks,” Sokka smiled, his cheek pressed to Zuko’s chest, “for everything, I mean. I would’ve died if you hadn’t caught me.  _ Splat. _ ” He couldn’t help remembering the treacherous fall: the ground coming to meet him as his hands slipped from the ledge, the crashing of the waves, his anxiety finally overtaking him…

And the wave of calm that hit him right before he blacked out. 

Zuko had refused to meet his eyes. He couldn’t allow himself to, this was already too much. “We can’t afford to have any casualties, not when the avatar’s so close. I would have done that for anybody.”

“Oh, he says that Sokka, but I am not sure he means it.” Iroh came in with a plate carrying three piping hot cups of tea. “Now drink up, boys. You all need your strength to recover.”

Zuko gasped in pain as Iroh pulled him into a sitting position. He knew Sokka was able to push himself up off of Zuko with his good arm before steadying himself. As they respectively grabbed their cups, Iroh placed the plate on the side of their bed. They sat in silence, enjoying the tea and the presence of each other's company. 

By the time they were finished, Sokka was growing weary again. Zuko, however, couldn’t sleep. He couldn’t help but overhear snippets of the conversation going on outside of the cabin.

“...Reported to Admiral Zhao…”

“...The avatar…”

Zuko stumbled out of bed, rubbing his lower back, leaving Sokka to flop onto the sheets. He had to hear what this was about. 

“We understand. We will report all information on the avatar as soon as it is received,” Iroh said, “however, we need to get through this area in order to find him. Do we have your permission to do so?”

Admiral Zhao did not verbally respond: Zuko could only assume he shook his head.    
“We are not letting any ships pass in or out of this area. However, there is a nearby port where you can dock your ship.” 

“Understood.” As Iroh walked away, signalling an end to the conversation, Zuko couldn’t help but stifle a yell. How were they to capture the avatar if they couldn’t even move past Zhao’s boundary?

Zuko noticed that Zhao, along with some Yuyan archers, were dismounting the ship. He fumbled through an old chest of his until he stumbled upon a blue mask. 

Hiding it behind his back, he left the cabin and approached Iroh. “Uncle, I’m going to walk around for a little. Get some fresh air. I think it would be good for my back.”

Iroh looked up from his Pai Sho game to stare him straight in the eye, “alright, but  _ be careful.  _ The last thing we need on our hands is a dead prince.”

Zuko nodded and quickly left the ship, put on the mask, and slunk into the shadows towards Zhao. 

\---

Dawn was breaking as Suki, Aang, and Katara lifted off into the air, away from their hideaway. 

“I still can’t believe you made us suck on frogs last night,” Suki was staring into the distance, where the sky was being graced with streaks of pink and yellow. 

_ That wasn’t even the craziest thing about last night,  _ Aang thought, recounting his experience with the Blue Spirit, who turned out to be Zuko.

Despite his attempts to win him over, Aang wasn’t able to. While Aang was thankful to be out of Zhao’s chains, he couldn’t stop disappointment from weighing in his heart. 

“Hey, at least it worked,” Katara side-eyed Suki, “I don’t think I could’ve handled another day being that sick.”

Katara had had a crazy night as well. She had spent her time trying to confess her feelings to Suki, though all of her words came out jumbled and confused. 

_ “Suki...You make me feel all warm…” _

_ “Aw Katara, but I’m not warm. I’m cold. I’m really, really cold.” _

_ “No, I mean, your face...I can’t stop looking at your face.” _

_ “Oh, do I have something on it? Wait, Katara...am I ugly?” _

It had been a disaster. Thankfully, Suki didn’t seem to remember, and Katara would be able to try confessing her feelings again soon.

The three arrived at a village shortly after noon; they had stopped out of curiosity about a local figure named Aunt Wu. After seeing a man encounter a platypus bear with no fear, claiming Aunt Wu said he’d be safe, Aang knew he needed to investigate.

Upon arrival, they noticed a large building with a man standing guard. When he saw the trio, the man stepped aside and claimed that they should go in, and that Aunt Wu had been expecting them. They were whisked in with haste, and while Aang and Suki sat down, Katara was beckoned down the hall into Aunt Wu’s room.

“Oh my…” Aunt Wu grinned, “you are going to marry a warrior!” 

Katara’s eyes lit up, “really? A warrior?” Suki was a Kiyoshi warrior! Katara couldn’t believe her luck.

Aunt Wu nodded, holding both of Katara’s hands. “Yes...she will be strong, and brave, but bossy...be careful with her, dearie.” 

Katara didn’t need to hear any more. She burst out of the room laughing and spinning around. When she returned, Suki stood up to go see Aunt Wu, leaving just Katara and Aang. 

“Well, what’d she say?” Aang grinned. He could tell she had gotten some good news. 

“Well, she said I’d marry a warrior...a  _ girl  _ who was brave and strong!” Her face hurt from smiling so much. “She basically described Suki!”

“Woah...so do you like her?” Aang couldn’t help but lean towards Katara in anticipation. He loved playing matchmaker for his friends, especially when they were lovestruck idiots like Katara and Suki. 

“Of course! Listen, I heard the woman before me talking about her true love giving her a panda lily...when I asked her about it, she said that they’re a rare flower only found on the rims of volcanoes. I...I was thinking of giving Suki one.”

“Yes! That’ll give her the message loud and clear!” Aang air bended himself to a standing position, offering his hand to Katara. “You ready to climb?”

She nodded, taking his hand and heaving herself upright before leaving Aunt Wu’s place with Aang by her side.

\---

“I see a great romance for you…” Aunt Wu murmured, looking deeply into Suki’s eyes. 

“Really? With who?” 

“Well, I-I cannot tell if it is a man or a woman, but they are a very powerful bender!”

Suki was confused. The only “very powerful bender” she could think of was Aang, and she didn’t want to marry a bald kid. 

“Are you sure? It isn’t just some average tribe o-or village person?” Suki tried not to summon the image of Katara to mind. 

“No, no...this person is powerful. Very powerful.” 

“Oh…” Suki’s face fell. She was so sure she would end up with Katara, but...could she be considered a powerful bender? 

Suki knew she had the power to shape her own destiny, no matter what Aunt Wu said. With a quick, curt nod of thanks, she left and started searching for Katara.

\---

“Sokka, stop touching me.” Sokka had fallen asleep against Zuko’s shoulder. Now that his back was beginning to heal, he didn’t have an excuse to be this close to Sokka. 

“Wh--?” Sokka groaned, heaving himself upright as he stared at Zuko. “You’re so mean. You’re not even fully healed yet, anyways. I should be the one bossing  _ you  _ around.”

“Whatever. Can you make me some tea?” 

“Aye aye, captain.” Sokka weakly saluted before trudging out of the cabin. 

Zuko couldn’t help but lay back down and stare at the ceiling. He wanted so desperately to recreate the feeling of Sokka on top of his stomach. He couldn’t stop hearing Sokka’s gentle snoring, feeling the ghost of the weight that once lay on his chest, but every time Zuko tried to recreate the peace he had felt that day, he ended up feeling nothing but anger.

  
  
  



	12. Ty Lee

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gaang finds an unexpected friend at the Northern Air Temple, Katara strikes a deal with a member of the Fire Nation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> //cw for vomit I guess? It's supposed to be funny but if it grosses you out you can skip it without missing any plot info :p

Aang had never felt more alone in his life. 

Sure, he had Katara and Suki, but the weight of having no one like him was settling in. Katara had just recently reunited with her father, as well as Bato, who was from her native tribe. Suki had an entire fleet of warriors who she could connect with and relate to. 

Who did he have to relate to? Who could he share his experiences with? He had been the last remaining air bender for one hundred  _ years;  _ no one could understand what he was feeling. 

He could still feel the remnants of pain from his battle with Zhao, despite the fact that Katara had healed him. Aang looked along the sides of his arms, and into his trembling hands. They were soaring through the sky, Katara napping in Suki’s lap, and were inching ever closer to the North Pole. 

_ Another place where Katara fits right in.  _ Aang hugged his knees into his chest. All of the places where he once fit in were riddled with cobwebs and skeletons of his loved ones. 

“I’m going to land for a minute. I need a bathroom break,” Suki began to direct Appa downwards while stroking Katara’s head, gently nudging her awake. 

They landed near a small village. As soon as Appa touched the ground, the trio was greeted by a group of old men. 

“Air walkers...in the flesh!” One of them cooed and examined Aang’s arrows, “I’ve seen you folks in the sky, but never here on solid ground!”

“Air walkers...you mean air benders?” Aang asked, “You must be confused...I’m the only one left, these are just my friends. They don’t, uh, walk on air. They’re just traveling with me.” Suki nodded as Aang spoke before rushing off towards the village. 

The men looked confused. “But...we see your people every day over the mountains, swirling through the air and doing fancy dips and whatnot.” The other men murmured their agreement at the first man’s words  
Aang’s eyes opened wide, “Wh...you’ve seen real air benders? How recently?” 

The man sighed and thought for a minute. “Why, it was only two days ago when I saw someone fly by. I was trying to buy cabbages, you see, and--”

Aang could sense a long story coming on. As Suki rushed towards them, he simply said, “okay, thank you, bye!” before he, Katara and Suki hopped back onto Appa and took off. 

“They must’ve been talking about the Northern Air temple!” Aang was piloting Appa now while Suki and Katara gazed down at the mountaintops. 

“Aang, I don’t know if--” Suki jabbed Katara playfully to cut her off. 

“Let him believe,” she whispered into Katara’s ear. Suki let her face linger there next to Katara’s for a few moments before pulling away. 

“Hey guys, look!” Aang pointed towards the approaching temple. There were people circling it, circling it by  _ flying.  _

Aang’s face immediately fell when he noticed the gliders that they were using. 

“Never mind. These aren’t air benders, they’re fakes.” 

“What do you mean, Aang? They’re flying!” Suki cocked her head. 

“Yeah, flying, but not air bending. They don’t have any spirit.” As soon as the words left Aang’s mouth, he was dive-bombed by a boy sitting in a chair that was attached to a glider. 

As the boy’s giggles filled the air, Aang’s expression changed from furious to competitive. He immediately whipped out his own glider and jumped off of Appa and after the boy, leaving Katara to fumble for the reins. 

Suki and Katara landed Appa onto the ground outside of the temple and watched Aang; they were prepared to launch back into the air in case he needed help. 

“Hey! I know you!” A familiar, high-pitched voice tore Katara’s eyes away from Aang. She was wrapped in a hug before she could process that the voice belonged to Ty Lee. 

“It’s you! You were the first one I told about my air bending heritage!” Ty Lee’s face fell a bit. “I mean, of course everyone already knew, but…”  
“Yeah…!” Katara smiled awkwardly. Ty Lee was still gripping her shoulders so tightly, and they had only met once. Why was she so excited?

“I never formally introduced myself...I’m Katara, this is Suki, she, uh, joined us after we met you…” How was she going to explain that she had lied to Ty Lee about Aang’s identity? “And this--”

“Don’t worry, I know that’s the avatar. The whole world knows that’s the avatar!” Ty Lee giggled. “I know you didn’t trust me because I’m from the Fire Nation, but I’ve found a group of people I can live with! I can practice air bending similarly to how my ancestors did, even though I’m not a bender! I-I fit in, finally…” Her voice trailed off at those last words. 

Katara let out a relieved sigh before realizing that Aang and the strange boy had landed already. Suki had left her side to join Aang, and Katara and Ty Lee followed suit. 

“Hey...you’re a real air bender! Are you the avatar?” The boy was gushing over Aang. “I’ve heard so many stories about you!” 

Aang chuckled nervously, “yeah, my name’s Aang…”

“This is Teo! He and his dad design really cool air gliding thingies, like this chair!” Ty Lee walked over to them on her hands, a habit that she had picked up in circus school. She began to walk towards the temple. “Here, come and see!” 

\---

“We should arrive at the Northern Air Temple shortly.” An anonymous source had told Zuko’s team about the avatar’s whereabouts. While the prince worked on tracking him, Sokka and Iroh were competing to see who could eat the most komodo chicken in a minute. 

“We should prepare the--are you two even listening? Why are you enabling them?” Zuko turned towards the soldier who had been an impartial judge for Sokka and Iroh’s competition and had been timing them as well.

The soldier bowed, “f-forgive me, your highness. I figured you wouldn’t need any help, and--”

“Hey! Give this poor man a rest. Sokka and I are the ones who asked him to help.” Iroh let out a belch as he spoke before shooting a sidelong glance at Sokka. “You sure know how to eat, young man. I have faith that, someday, you will finally be able to out-eat me.”

Sokka laughed, though the chuckles quickly became caught in his throat and he rushed to the side of the boat to vomit. 

“I’m good!” Sokka called back, though his head still dangled towards the water. Zuko couldn’t help but bring a hand to his temple at the idiocy of his friend. 

“Sokka, while I can appreciate this bit of karma, can you stop messing around and finally start helping me?”

Sokka nodded meekly before pulling his head up slowly and strolling towards Zuko. 

“Hey, what was that about karma? What’d I ever do to you?”   
Zuko scoffed, “that was payback for not helping me in the first place, obviously. Now come on, we’re approaching the shore and I can’t let him get away this time.”

Iroh was still snacking on the leftover komodo chicken. Zuko didn’t dare to disturb him; it was one thing to yell at Sokka, but Iroh was still his superior. He couldn’t boss him around. 

“It’s a good thing June told us where to get these...whatever these are.” Sokka stood at the base of the mountains, glancing warily at the eel hounds in front of them. “What are we supposed to do with these guys again?”   
“They’re eel hounds, Sokka. We have to mount them and ride them to the Northern Air Temple,” Zuko paused and looked at Iroh, “uncle, do you think it’s safe for you to ride up? You can wait here if you’d like.”

Iroh shook his head. “No, no, this will be good for my old bones. Besides, if I remember correctly, the Fire Nation should be getting a new shipment of weapons today from the Northern Air Temple…”

Zuko shook his head and mounted the eel hound. He had no idea what his uncle was talking about, and he didn’t know if he wanted to.

Iroh followed suit, and Sokka was the last to mount his eel hound. With a hefty “Yeehaw!” from Sokka, they were off scaling the mountains. 

\---

“You make weapons for the Fire Nation?” Ty Lee trembled at Aang’s harsh tone. Maybe she was trembling at the fact that she hadn’t managed to escape the Fire Nation after all, that even after all this time her past nation followed her. 

Maybe she was trembling at the thought of being caught. 

“Y-You have to understand, they left me no choice--!” Teo’s father, the mechanist, protested. “They-they discovered us in the temple, Teo...they wanted to burn it to the ground, and reduce us to ash too...I promised them I’d do anything if they’d only spare the temple, spare  _ us--”  _ The mechanist covered his mouth, his voice coming out in little more than a whisper. “They gave me a choice: serve them in the war, or become one of their casualties.”

“You can’t give them more weapons!” Aang couldn’t handle the thought of such innocent people being taken advantage of. They may have destroyed the temple, but he knew that Teo and his father had good intentions, and when used properly, their inventions could help change the world. 

“How can I be proud of you?” Teo’s face contorted with rage, “your weapons are being used for murder!”

The tinkling of a bell interrupted their conversation, and the mechanist began to panic. 

“You need to hide, quick! They’re coming…” Teo and Aang rushed behind the sail of an unused ship just as a Fire Nation representative was carried up by a plank of wood, controlled by a pulley system, up to their floor. As the representative stepped off, the plank dipped down and back up again three more times, carrying Iroh, Sokka, and Zuko, respectively. 

Once he noticed the three new arrivals, the representative tried to hide the look of shock on his face. He turned towards the mechanist and asked him for the new weaponry that he was promised. 

“Quick,” Zuko murmured to Sokka, “start looking around for the avatar. He could be anywhere.”

They didn’t have to look very far. Aang blocked the mechanist and the Fire Nation representative from leaving the room with a gust of wind, and Zuko let out a yell of triumph upon seeing the boy. 

“You’re mine!” Zuko ran towards Aang, who immediately burst through the door and into the main room of the temple.

Ty Lee immediately hid, and Katara and Suki jumped in beside Aang to help him fight. 

Zuko sent a blast of flame out through an outstretched palm. Aang was able to fan it back towards Zuko using his glider, and while the prince was cringing away from the heat, Suki snuck up behind him and tripped him.

“I’ll kill you if you try to step on me again!” He grunted, although Suki didn’t have to. Katara had managed to find a puddle and bend some of the water over Zuko’s hands before freezing it. 

“Let...me...GO!” Zuko immediately melted the ice and began to target Katara. 

“Aang, go find Appa and fly to the nearest mountaintop you can land on. Teo will come to fetch you when it’s safe.” Aang gave a brisk nod at Suki’s words and immediately ran off.

Katara’s coat had just caught fire when Sokka snuck up unnoticed and constricted her hands behind her, leaving her unable to bend.

“Good,” Zuko sneered, “now, I’ll only ask this once before I set this place ablaze... _ where is the avatar?” _

“He’s gone, fire boy,” Suki ran up behind Sokka and kicked his knees in, causing him to buckle and lose his grip on Katara. “And if you touch Kat again, I’ll kill you.”

“Do  _ not  _ threaten Sokka!” Zuko was just about to send an arc of flames towards Suki’s head when the Fire Nation representative burst in, dragging the mechanist by the arm. Iroh followed, though seemingly unhurried.

“General Iroh, if you can only get him to cooperate--” the representative trailed off when he saw the battle that was going on. 

“My, my. What is going on? Why isn’t anybody getting me my weapons?” He glared down at the mechanist, “you know what will happen if you do not deliver.” 

Zuko stared at the mechanist, “I will spare your life, and this sorry excuse for a temple if you can deliver to me the avatar.”

The mechanist was relieved that he didn’t have to make another moral decision. It seemed that Aang had already left, so even if he  _ wanted  _ to, he couldn’t hand him over. 

“Well, i-it seems as though he’s gone…” The mechanist glanced around. 

“I’ll go.” Katara stepped forward, looking Zuko in the eyes. “I’ll be your hostage if you promise to spare this temple for good.”

Zuko sighed in anger. He supposed that Katara could be a useful source of information about Aang's whereabouts, although he'd have to wear her down first. Besides, he didn't want her to get too close to Sokka.

"Fine," Zuko muttered before stalking off towards where the eel hounds were resting.

“You can always get your weapons from someone else, fine sir. In fact, I have some engineers whom I can recommend to you!” Iroh patted the representative on the back, who only gave a curt nod in response. 

“Very well, General Iroh. I understand the dire need to capture the avatar. Tell me more about these engineers, will you…?”

As Iroh and the general began talking, Sokka grabbed Katara’s hands, trying to fight off the urge to let her run free. He had to do this. For Zuko. 

“Sokka, you know you don’t want to do this.” Katara made no effort to struggle as he dragged her towards the mountain side, where Zuko, Iroh and the representative were heading. 

“You don’t know what I want. I want something you could never understand.”  _ I want Zuko.  _

“I saw you use the boomerang, you know,” she smiled, “you’re still Water Tribe at heart, you know that?”

Sokka released her hands and kicked her towards the approaching eel hound. 

“Do us all a favor and be quiet for once. If you don’t, I’ll shut you up myself.”

\---

Suki sat in the middle of the main temple room. It felt so large now, without the crowds of people chattering and flying through the air. Had it always been like this?

“Your friend gave herself to save us,” the mechanist approached Suki gingerly, “I hope you know that we are very thankful.”

Suki couldn’t think about what had just happened. She needed a distraction, she needed to think about anything other than Katara.

“Teo, can you go out and look for Aang? He should be waiting on a nearby mountain. Maybe in a cave on one or something, I-I don’t know…” Teo could sense Suki’s distress. He gave her a thumbs-up before rolling towards the entrance and ascending off into the distance.

“Suki, right?” Ty Lee had finally come out of hiding, “I...I can’t stay here. I mean, you just lost a friend, and knowing how they’ve helped the Fire Nation...seeing that room…” Ty Lee trailed off, her vacant gaze boring into Suki.

“Come help me save her.” What was she offering? She had no idea who Ty Lee was. Well, she knew one thing: Ty Lee had some type of connection to the Fire Nation. Whether that was valuable or dangerous, she wasn’t sure yet.

“Y-You mean it?” Ty Lee’s eyes widened and a grin spread across her face. “Yes! Yes, let’s go save Katara! Let’s go save the world!” 

Suki chuckled, not bothering to take her eyes off of the horizon. She hoped Aang would return soon; they needed to find Katara as soon as possible, before the Fire Nation did something bad to her.

Ty Lee had no idea what she was getting herself into. 


	13. A sibling bond?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Katara and Sokka have a chat, Suki and Ty Lee pine for Yue's affection.

Suki had lost track of the number of hours that had passed since Katara’s capture. A full day must’ve passed, at least-she’d seen at least one sunrise-but she couldn’t be bothered to pay attention except for the growing despair that hung heavy on her chest. 

“Are you sure you don’t wanna stop and look for Katara? It wouldn’t hurt, Zuko could still be around here,” Aang offered. Suki shook her head.

“You need to learn the other elements as soon as possible. Besides,” she tried not to choke up, “Katara would’ve wanted us to keep going.”

“We’re almost at the North Pole, right? That’s so exciting!” Aang and Suki grimaced at Ty Lee’s upbeat words. She had good intentions, but her lack of connection to Katara made her grieving period shorter than everyone else's. 

“Have any of us ever been?” Suki looked around and took the lack of responses as a no. 

“I’ve heard stories about it! My friends at school said that it was the coldest place on earth, and that only the most experienced benders with the toughest, most impenetrable skin could survive,” Ty Lee said in a hushed voice.

“That’s ridiculous,” Suki responded, “women and children live there, you know. I’m guessing it’s a pretty safe place to live. Plenty of food, water, skilled hunters…”

Aang was too busy staring down at the water, where ornately decorated ships were floating directly beneath them. Upon looking closer, Aang realized that the men piloting the ships were moving the waves similar to how Katara bent water. 

“Guys, look! I think they’re water tribesmen!” Aang pointed down towards the boats. “Hey Appa, can you get a little closer, I want to talk to them!” 

Upon introducing themselves to the water tribesmen and explaining their situation, as well as their connection to Katara, the trio was escorted back to the tribe and fed a traditional Northern Water Tribe feast. 

“Tonight,” The head tribesman said before they began eating, “we celebrate the arrival of the avatar, the one who is to bring peace to our great nation.” 

Aang meekly nodded and smiled as he was greeted with approving nods and murmurs. 

“We also celebrate my daughter’s sixteenth birthday; she is now of marrying age.” At the man’s words, a stunning girl came up beside him, dressed head to toe in blue robes. Her white hair shimmered in the moonlight, and her eyes seemed to hold wisdom that stretched beyond her years. 

“Thank you, father. May we be watched by the great ocean and moon spirits, may they bring us guidance during these troubling times.” The girl’s eyes scanned the crowd before her eyes landed on the trio. 

As the head tribesmen began to introduce the head water bender in the tribe, master Pakku, Suki and Ty Lee’s eyes were trained on Yue. 

“Guys, I think I know who my water bending teacher should be!” Aang couldn’t keep his excitement contained as he watched master Pakku perform. Suki and Ty Lee, on the other hand, were preoccupied with watching the mysterious princess as she sat down between them.

“Hello there,” the princess smiled at both of the girls respectively, “my name is princess Yue. It is a pleasure to host you in our tribe.”

“Nonsense! The pleasure’s all ours!” Suki was embarrassed that she spoke with her mouth full, but she couldn’t let Ty Lee get the first word in. 

“Yeah! Your tribe is amazing, by the way. And you look so pretty!” Ty Lee began giggling as soon as the words left her mouth. “Oh, I’m Ty Lee, and my friend over there is Suki.” 

“It is good to meet you both.” A silence hung between the three after the words left Yue’s mouth.

“S-so marrying age, right? That’s what your dad said you are now?” Suki choked on her drink at Ty Lee’s statement. It took all her will not to kick the circus girl under the table. 

Yue turned red, “yes, it is customary for women of the Northern Water Tribe to begin marrying at sixteen. Thankfully, however, my father hasn’t arranged anything yet.”

“Well, that’s good!” Ty Lee just wouldn’t stop talking. “I mean, not that you’ll find anyone here. Aang’s too small and bald. He’s cute, but in a turtle duck kind of way. And Suki’s taken.”

“What? I’m not taken!” Suki couldn’t control her voice from rising, and she got a few confused stares from people sitting at the surrounding tables. “What would make you say that?”   
Ty Lee raised an eyebrow, “but I saw the way you were staring at her when she was fighting Zuko, and you seemed pretty protective of her...besides, you haven’t spoken, like, a word since she’s been captured!”

“Yes, but--” but what? What did she feel for Katara? 

She loved Katara, she really did. Katara was the only one who had the nerve to stand up to her, but the way she cared for Aang and even her estranged brother made Suki’s heart melt. 

“N-nothing’s official, not yet…” Suki managed to mumble. 

“Well, I believe I should be leaving,” Yue couldn’t help but let out a giggle at the awkwardness that was ensuing. She had no intention of marrying a foreigner, nevermind a foreigner who she hardly knew. However, she didn’t need to tell either of them that. “I hope to see you around.”

\---

Iroh was hosting a music night. He needed Sokka and Zuko to loosen up a bit, especially since they were getting so close to getting the avatar. If they didn’t stop and have fun once and a while, Zuko would become insufferable. 

“Winter, spring, summer, and fall…” Iroh sang along to the accompanying string instruments. Iroh had forced Sokka and Zuko to dance together, claiming that they needed to keep their dancing skills sharp.

Sokka knew the real reason why Iroh was trying to push them together, and he was a tad thankful. 

Sokka held both of Zuko’s hands and waltzed around the boat, letting the music carry him. He pushed his leg back, released one of his hands and bowed to Zuko, inclining Zuko to do the same. 

“Why can’t you let me lead?” Zuko muttered, though secretly he enjoyed following Sokka’s fluid movements. The prince was not a good dancer, but his friend was. 

“Be quiet, I know you’re loving this,” Sokka winked before forcing his hands back against Zuko’s and continuing the waltz. 

“Four seasons, four loves...four seasons, for love…” the boys, who had separated and angled their hands towards the sky, immediately let their arms fall to the ground and turned towards the shadows approaching them. 

Iroh turned and immediately recognized commander Zhao. 

“Boys, head down to the cabin. I will be with you momentarily,” Iroh called before greeting the guest.

“Did you see who it was?” Sokka sat on his bed while Zuko paced around the room. Sokka wanted to care more, to be more concerned, but the dancing had nearly put him to sleep. The most he could do was let his eyes follow Zuko as he lapped the room again and again and again. 

“It was commander Zhao. This can’t be good.” As soon as Zuko spoke, Iroh entered the room. 

“Boys, there is a bit of a problem. Zhao is taking the crew...even the cook!” Iroh wiped his eyes with his sleeve before continuing. “He is heading out to search for the avatar.”

Zhao entered the room as if on cue. 

“Zuko, Zuko’s friend.” He nodded curtly, “I’m sorry you can’t watch me capture the avatar, but you must understand that I can’t have you getting in my way again.”

Zuko let out a frustrated yell and lunged towards Zhao, only to be held back by Iroh. 

Zhao, however, was more concerned with the broadswords that hung on the back wall of the cabin. 

“I didn’t know you used broadswords, Prince Zuko,” Zhao said as he gingerly took one from the wall. 

“I don’t. They’re simply decorative.” Zuko had to stop his voice from shaking. Had Zhao figured out that he was the one who had freed Aang from his clutches?

Zhao began to launch into a lecture on the blue spirit, so Sokka decided to sneak away.

  
  


“What are you...doing here?” Katara’s voice was hoarse. She barely had enough water to drink, and she had gone down kicking and screaming at Zuko and Sokka about how they’d never catch Aang.

Sokka shrugged and studied the cargo that surrounded her, “I’ve got nowhere else to be.”

Katara strained against the chains that held her to the wall. “What do you want, Sokka? Are you here to taunt me about how you hate your family, and you’d rather see it be destroyed than help us out?”   
Sokka shushed her, “I don’t hate you. I just...it’s complicated, okay? You’re like a stranger to me. How am I supposed to like you more than ‘Roh and Zuko?”

“Oh, so you’ve got nicknames for the murderers above deck,” Katara scoffed. 

“They’re good people! They made me feel welcome when nobody else did!” Sokka crossed his arms. So far, they hadn’t been able to get any information out of her about the avatar; all she’d managed to do was get on Sokka’s last nerve. 

“I’m trying to make you feel welcome! I’m trying to welcome you back to the Water Tribe, where you belong!” Katara stopped struggling and looked down at the floor. “You say you don’t know me, but I know  _ you.  _ You’re Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe, born to Kya and Hakoda. You loved to make snow angels, and your favorite food was blubbered seal jerky. You loved playing war with dad, he’d dress you up in war paint and everything. A-And what you loved most of all was your boomerang.”

Sokka’s hand reflexively reached to his waistband, where he kept the boomerang that Iroh had given him on his birthday. He couldn’t show it to her, she couldn’t know he was still the same little boy from the stories she’d heard. 

He couldn’t stop the memories from flooding in: him playing in the snow as a child, his mother’s warm laugh, riding on his father’s shoulders, the little baby crawling in the snow next to him. 

He  _ had  _ known Katara after all.

“I know. I know, I know, I don’t belong in the Fire Nation. Do you think you’re the first to tell me that?” Sokka sat down and hugged his knees to his chest. 

“Sokka, I--”

“No, let me finish. I don’t belong anywhere, in any nation. I can’t just up and leave ‘Roh and Zuko, not when they need me most, not when I could actually be  _ useful  _ for once…” Sokka sighed, “besides, even if I did return to the Water Tribe, what would I say? ‘Hey mom and dad, sorry for helping to massacre a bunch of innocent people, I’m back home now’?” 

Katara stared at him in silence. The only sound they could make out was the clattering of footsteps above deck. 

“Listen. I’m loyal to Zuko and Iroh. They’ve given me more than I deserve, and I need to repay them. Somehow.” Sokka stared at the ceiling, “buuut...I don’t want you to get taken away either. Zhao is taking all of our crew members, so if you can stay quiet for a minute until he leaves, you’ll be able to stay with us.”

Katara’s chest swelled with hope. Maybe her brother did care for him after all?   
“Thank you,” she whispered, “really.”

“Yeah, well, don’t get too used to it.” With those words, Sokka exited the cargo space, letting the door slam on his way out.


	14. She's saved!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Fire Nation initiates a raid on the Northern Water Tribe, so Suki and Ty Lee volunteer to help try and stop them.

The gaang had spent the past three nights in the Northern Water Tribe as guests of master Pakku. Aang was in a training session, leaving Suki and Ty Lee to wander around and look at the sights and try and impress their tour guide, Yue. 

“Wow, I’ve never seen a kingdom this beautiful before!” Ty Lee guffawed. She loved the intricate details carved into the ice, and she couldn’t believe that it never seemed to melt.

“Ty Lee. You used to be best friends with Azula. Didn’t you see the Fire Nation Palace all the time?” Suki gave her a playful shove. 

Ty Lee blushed, “I-I mean, I was only eight when I was banished, I don’t really remember it that well…”

Yue had halted, leaving the two visitors to keep walking. 

“Fire Nation...you’re from the Fire Nation?” She couldn’t bring her voice up past a whisper as she gazed over Ty Lee’s shoulder.

“Wh-? Oh…” Ty Lee’s face fell. “I was born there, sure. But I...I was exiled because some members of my family were air benders. They stopped caring about me a long time ago, so I don’t really consider myself a part of the Fire Nation. “

Yue nodded slowly and debated whether or not to trust the foreigner. She figured that the avatar seemed to like her, and she had won the friendship of a Kiyoshi warrior. Besides, she wouldn’t be staying long anyways. 

She resumed walking alongside Suki and Ty Lee only to stop again at the sight of the dark snow raining from the clouds. 

“I’ve never seen it snow before! It’s much darker than I thought...does it turn white once it hits the ground?” Ty Lee held her palm out and collected some falling flakes. 

Suki shook her head, “I don’t think this is snow. I think it’s something much, much worse.”

“It looks like soot…” Yue had only heard about it in stories from warriors from the Southern Water Tribe. “I believe it’s a sign that the Fire Nation is coming…”

Suki narrowed her eyes, “we have to tell the kingdom.”

\---

“We’ll be landing soon,” Iroh murmured to a guard, “do you have a plan?”

The guard took off his faceplate and revealed himself to be Zuko. Another guard stood nearby, giving a thumbs up. 

“Sokka and I are working on it.” Zuko slid his faceplate back on and his uncle disappeared into the shadows of the boat.

Sokka snuck down to the basement of the ship, where the cargo was typically held. Katara was slouched against the wall. 

“You can’t do this and get away with it,” she didn’t even look up as Sokka sat down a few feet from her, “I don’t care how much you love the prince and his uncle. Nothing is worth this destruction.”

“Look, we don’t want to conquer the Northern Water Tribe either,” Katara finally looked up, “we just want the avatar, and Zhao stole all of our men. So we kinda have to go along with what he’s doing.” 

“So what? You’re going to leave our people to die just to capture Aang? Besides…” Katara began to get angry, “...I don’t even think you’ll be able to capture him. Suki is stronger than you ever will be, and she’s got an army of water tribesmen on her side.” 

“We’ve got a plan to capture Aang. Zuko knows what he’s doing.” Sokka suppressed a shiver at the phrase  _ our people. _

But they were, they were water tribesmen just like he was. 

Sokka was helping to genocide them for what? Just for some attention from Zuko? 

Sokka stood up and whisked out of the room. He couldn’t bear to be in there for any longer.

\---

Suki, Ty Lee, and Yue were running up through the kingdom, trying to get to the palace as fast as possible. To Ty Lee’s surprise, Yue had grabbed her hand and was leading her on. 

As they approached the palace, Yue slowed down while Suki rushed in. 

“T-Ty Lee, I just want to say…” What did she want to say? As far as she knew, Ty Lee was an ash maker and shouldn’t be trusted. But something was telling her that that wasn’t the case.

“I just want to say that I wish I’d had more time with you. You’re a beautiful soul who has endured more pain than one deserves. I hope, I hope we can unite someday, even if it’s in another life.”

Ty Lee sprung herself into Yue’s arms. She had found a lot of comfort in spending time with the princess, and she wasn’t ready to part ways just yet. 

“I’ll come back,” Ty Lee sniffled, “I promise.”

The girls walked in while the head of the tribe was informing the people about the looming threat of the Fire Nation.

“I am going to need volunteers for a dangerous mission.”

Ty Lee sprung up at the chief’s words, “I’ll do it!” She wanted to protect Yue and her people at all costs. 

Suki sighed. She couldn’t just let Ty Lee go out on her own, not in unfamiliar territory. Besides, she wanted to protect Yue too.

“I’m going too.” She and Ty Lee walked side by side up to the chief where they received forehead markings that indicated they were going on this mission.

Shortly after they were marked, Suki and Ty Lee were equipped with the proper gear and weapons needed for the mission. They, along with Aang, were stationed on top of one of the kingdom’s walls and stood side by side, occasionally scooting closer for warmth. 

A large flare in the distance caught Aang’s eye. As it approached, he realized it wasn’t a flare.

It was a fireball. 

Multiple fireballs were fired consecutively after the first, all of which broke through the tribe’s walls and created an explosion big enough to blow the people out of the kingdom. 

Aang immediately launched Appa into the air and set off to try and defeat the approaching ship. After barely managing to dodge some fireballs, he jumped off of Appa and landed on the ship. He was able to quickly dodge the soldiers and shove one of their hammers into the catapult that was launching the fireballs, which not only disabled it but also caused it to swing into the front of the ship and melt through part of the ship’s floor.

“I gotta find Katara…” He murmured, quickly launching himself through the air to avoid even more soldiers who were swinging their hammers and swords at him. 

As he rounded towards the back of the ship, he saw the door to the cargo holding spot. Aang knew he couldn’t go in there while he was being followed by all of these soldiers, so he shakily bent some water out of the ocean and froze it around the guards’ legs and feet. 

“Stop coming in here if you’re not going to--Aang?” Katara’s face lit up when she saw him. 

“No time to talk! We gotta move!” Aang frantically searched for the key to Katara’s chains before stumbling upon it inside a drawer. He quickly unlocked her and led her past the frozen guards and onto an awaiting Appa, just barely missing the hits of even more approaching guards.

“Aang, thank goodness you saved me…” Katara curled up against him; she was utterly exhausted from this whole ordeal.

Aang’s face fell when he looked out on the horizon: dozens upon dozens of Fire Nation ships were approaching the Northern Water Tribe shores.

“I don’t think we’re safe yet…”

\---

“You all will be infiltrating the Fire Nation navy." The chief nodded to the chosen members.

A man came out dressed from head to toe in a Fire Nation uniform. The head of the tribe explained that each participant of the mission will be given one of these uniforms to wear in order to blend in.

“Um, I don’t think the Fire Nation uniforms look like that anymore.” Ty Lee still had vivid memories of seeing the soldiers stomping along outside of her house. “I think I read about those uniforms in the history books, though. So A for effort?”

The boy who was modeling the uniform furrowed his brow. “How come you know so much about the Fire Nation uniform?” He scowled. 

“Hahn, Ty Lee is an honored guest. If the avatar and a valued Kiyoshi warrior place their trust in her, so can we.” The chief nodded to Ty Lee while Hahn pouted. “You will all work to learn the identity of the commander and what he is planning.”

“Don’t worry Hahn, Aang and I have had a few encounters with the commander. I can tell you all about him on the way over.” Suki tried to force a smile.

“Don’t bother. If it’s not coming from the avatar--the only man in your group--then I don’t want to hear it.” Hahn began to stroll away.

“Hey! That’s not very nice!” Ty Lee shouted before turning to Suki, “you can always tell me. I’m always willing to listen.”

Suki slung an arm over Ty Lee’s shoulder before heading off in Hahn’s direction.

\---

“Hey, Katara! Have you heard? They’re postponing the rai--” Sokka trailed off at the sight of the empty chains. 

_ I should’ve been here watching her… _

Zuko told him he needed to watch her, that the avatar would try and free her. Sokka had brushed it off and claimed that a twelve year old couldn’t make it through all of their soldiers. In reality, Sokka simply didn’t have the willpower to spend any more time with Katara.

Sokka sank down to the floor and leaned his head against the wall. He began to lightly hit his head against it. 

_ Zuko’s gonna kill me...Zuko’s gonna kill me...Zuko’s gonna kill me… _

Strangely, he felt a sense of relief. He was happy that Katara was safe, especially since they were never going to get any information from her anyways. 

\---

“If you are fishing for an octopus, you need a tightly woven net. Even the tiniest hole could grant him an escape,” Iroh paused, “and do not take your eyes off of an octopus you already have. That octopus could always find a hole, or make one himself.” While he was speaking literally, they both knew there were also some alternative meanings to what he was saying. 

Zuko didn’t want to unpack all of that right now; if he assumed correctly, then Sokka had somehow let Katara slip out, and he didn’t have the energy to be mad at Sokka when there was so much else to think about.

“I don’t need your wisdom right now, uncle.” Zuko didn’t pry his eyes away from the small boat that hung in front of him. 

“I know...it’s just...ever since my own son died…”

“You don’t need to say it…”

“Zuko, I think of you and Sokka as my own.” Iroh began to choke up, “that boy and I, we would be lost without you.”

“I know, uncle. I’ll come back safely.” Iroh launched himself towards Zuko for a quick hug. Zuko pushed him away and started towards the boat. “After I have the avatar.”

  
  


“Am I too late?” Sokka was scared of Zuko’s wrath, but he was even more scared of not being able to say goodbye to him. 

Iroh nodded; he was staring out at the vacant sea, in the direction that Zuko’s boat had gone. 

“He’s gonna be okay, right Iroh?” Sokka walked towards the opening where Iroh stood. 

“Sokka, there are no guarantees in war. But I would give my life to have him come home safely.”

\---

After receiving their weapons, Suki, and Ty Lee, and the other volunteers were working on sharpening them. They had fallen into a rhythm of scraping the hard steel and polishing it until it looked as new. Sadly, Ty Lee had to do her polishing right next to Hahn. 

“You know, I can’t wait to marry Yue.” 

“I know! She’s amazing, isn’t she?” Ty Lee chirped.

“I mean, I guess, but what I really can’t wait for is the points I’ll gain with the chief. Plus, she’s got a smokin’ hot body.” Hahn smirked. 

“You aren’t really just marrying her because of those reasons, right?” Hahn’s words had made Ty Lee feel...dirty. She hated the thought of Yue marrying this sleazeball.

Hahn scoffed, “I shouldn’t expect you to understand. You’re such a nobody that not even the worst people on the planet wanted you.”

Before Ty Lee could respond, Suki dropped her weapon and lunged at Hahn.  _ Nobody  _ spoke to her friends like that. She knew how well-meaning and caring Ty Lee was, and she wasn’t going to let her be bullied like that. 

“You don’t deserve Princess Yue!” Suki pinned Hahn down by pressing on his neck, “I’d rather her marry Ty Lee than you! At least then she’d be treated right!” 

Ty Lee had begun to cry, causing the chief to come barging in and pull Suki and Hahn away from each other. 

“Suki, you’re off the mission. If you can’t respect my son-in-law, I can’t trust you.” He shot a sidelong glance at Ty Lee, “your friend here is off too. She’ll give us away in a minute if she’s this sensitive.”

Ty Lee couldn’t handle any more of this talk. The chief had no idea what he was talking about; Hahn had called her worse than the Fire Nation, for agni’s sake! She ran out of the meeting room and through the Northern Water Tribe Palace until she bumped into Yue.

“Ty Lee? What’s wrong?” Yue put her hands on the girl’s shoulders. 

“Hahn...said I’m worse than...the Fire Nation…” She managed between sobs. “Off the mission...Suki’s off too…”

Yue pulled Ty Lee into a warm embrace. “Come on, now. Don’t cry. You and Suki can come shelter with me, hm? Does that sound good?” 

“That sounds better than being with that jerkwad.” Suki strolled up to the two and hugged Ty Lee from the back, so that the girl was sandwiched between her and Yue.

“Can I get in on this?” The sound of Katara’s voice pulled Suki off of Ty Lee and forced her to turn around. 

“Kat! You’re alive!” Katara flung herself into Suki’s arms and began laughing hysterically. She knew it wasn’t the right time to confess, but she felt as though she didn’t even have to. Just being with Suki felt so right. 

Suki squeezed Katara tight and bent down, placing a discreet kiss on the top of her head. 

“I missed you, y’know. No more sacrifices without our consent.” Katara laughed at her words. 

“Hey guys, I’m back too…?” Aang waved sheepishly, causing Ty Lee to break away from Yue. Suki and Katara, however, stayed wrapped in each others’ arms. 

“Hello, avatar Aang. I am glad you’re back safely.” Yue smiled. 

“Aang! You saved Katara! Now the entire group’s together!” Ty Lee let out a little squeal of excitement. 

“Yeah,” Katara murmured into Suki’s chest, “yeah, it is.”

\---

Zuko had managed to swim through the water channel and come up on the other side unnoticed. When he emerged, he was freezing and gasping for air. Truthfully, he was just thankful to be alive.

He didn’t want to put Iroh through the pain of losing another boy who he viewed as a son. He also didn’t want to leave Sokka; he had been through so much already, from being torn from his family to having to fight his own people, and Zuko didn’t want to cause him any more harm. 

Of course, Zuko didn’t realize any of that consciously. No, he was too focused on keeping himself warm and moving to have any coherent thoughts.

He pushed himself past the turtle seals and through the open-air cave before maneuvering himself through several more winding underwater caverns and gaping undersea caves. Finally, he was able to heat up a chunk of ice and burst through the surface, right outside of the Northern Water Tribe.

\---

Ty Lee had decided not to go to the spiritual hub with Katara, Yue, and Aang. She didn’t want to mess up anything else. Instead, she was huddling against Suki for warmth and trying to distract herself from her last interaction with Hahn. 

“Oh! Ty Lee, I’m glad I found you.” Ty Lee was surprised to see the chief rushing towards her. “I have a special task for you.” 

“Does the task involve getting a winter coat or some gloves?”

The chief chuckled. “No, no. I’ve been informed that you know the ancient art of chi blocking. You’re very powerful, you know that? I want you and Suki to guard my daughter tonight. Yue will need all of the protection she can get.”

Ty Lee nodded and exchanged a smile with Suki. Hanging around Yue all night didn’t seem too bad; besides, watching the avatar do his work might actually be fun. 

“Well, whatever’s going on in there’s bound to be better than freezing our butts off out here!” Ty Lee giggled before turning to the chief, “we’ll do our absolute best to protect her.”


	15. Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zuko finally captures the avatar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! This is the end of the book 1 adjacent chapters! Thank you all so much for the support, I can't wait to continue writing more < 3

Zuko felt as though he was on the brink of death. Shivers wracked his entire body, his vision had become blurry, and worst of all, he couldn’t think straight anymore. His thoughts were a foggy mix of him trying to make sense of where he was and constant, intruding thoughts of the avatar.

He straightened up a bit once he stumbled into a small but spacious room that was filled with greenery. The warm air helped him come back to his senses a bit, but most importantly, he was able to locate the avatar sitting in the dead center of the room, unmoving and virtually unguarded. 

“Well, you thought you could escape?” Zuko rasped and moved his gaze to Katara, who immediately whipped around at the sound of his voice.

“You!” She couldn’t believe it. She was trapped in a room with a Water Tribe princess and the avatar, and she was supposed to protect them both? “S-Stay back, or I’ll--”

“Stop talking.” Zuko immediately launched himself forward into a high jump kick that spat flames towards Katara. He then pumped his fists towards her. With each punch came a blast of fire in Katara’s direction. Thankfully, she was able to bend some water away from her surroundings and use it to deflect all of the attacks and douse the flames. She then bended together a ball of water and used it to forcefully push him backward. As Zuko stumbled back, Katara froze the excess water on the ground and around his feet into ice, preventing him from moving any closer. Additionally, Katara was able to surround Zuko entirely with a flood of water, sparing only his hands and face. Once she froze the flood, Zuko was completely stuck and unable to free himself using bending. 

Zuko was pissed. The avatar was right here, in front of his very eyes, and he was supposed to just sit here like a caged animal and watch him? Moreover, did he really just get beaten by a peasant water bender?

No, no he didn’t. The sun was rising, which served him well as he began to heat up his breaths enough to melt the ice surrounding him. He only needed to launch a singular fiery punch towards an unexpecting Katara and she was knocked backward into a tree. 

Zuko scrambled to grab Aang, who still wasn’t moving. He began to leave before he turned back towards Katara.

“Now that I’ve got him, you don’t need to get anywhere near Sokka,” he growled, “so don’t bother showing your face again, alright? If I catch you talking to him again I’ll do a lot more than just burn you.”

“What? What happened??” Ty Lee cried, rushing immediately towards Yue. 

“Zuko took Aang. He said he didn’t want to see me anywhere near him or Sokka again.”

Ty Lee turned towards Katara. She knew the name Sokka, she knew she’d heard it somewhere…

“Sokka...Sokka…” She began murmuring.

It hit Katara that Ty Lee hadn’t yet heard what happened to him, since she was new to the group and all. 

“He was my brother. He was captured in a raid and brought back to the Fire Nation. My entire family is mourning him and wishes he’d come home, but he seems to be working really closely with Zuko now.” She knew she had to work on finding Aang, but how could she when she couldn’t even get close to him? Getting close to Zuko meant getting close to Sokka, and she had received Zuko’s warning loud and clear.

Memories had begun to flood Ty Lee’s mind. A little boy with scraggly hair, always left out and alone. Most of his sisters never really cared for him, nor did his parents. At least, before she and her sisters were exiled, and her mother…

The point was, she knew him, she knew she did! Sokka was her adopted brother!

“Ooo! Ooo! Sokka’s my brother too!” Ty Lee squealed before getting a glare from Katara. 

“Ty Lee now’s not the time for jokes.” Suki had wrapped her arms around Katara, partially for comfort and partially to keep her from lunging at Ty Lee. “You know how serious this is, and losing a brother is very serious--”

“But I am serious! In the Fire Nation, he was known as Sokka Asao, he was brought to my family when he was, like, four! Maybe five. I’m not sure.” Ty lee thought for a bit before continuing. “Anyways, I was, like, one of his only friends! I mean yeah, I hung out with my other sisters more, but I was the only one in our family who would pay attention to him! I remember he really liked talking about his boomerang. And when he was really young, he kept complaining about the food. He was such a weird kid…”

Katara began to piece the puzzle together. Sokka had been taken away from her family and sent to live with Ty Lee’s. Well, now Ty Lee was on her side; that had to mean something, right? Had it been destiny that she’d befriended Sokka’s adopted sister, and could she now use this connection to reach Aang without Zuko suspecting a thing?

“Ty Lee, you should take Appa to go search for Aang and Zuko. I’m sure he couldn’t have gotten far in this weather.” It had begun to snow viciously, and the sky had become completely white, though no flakes managed to land inside of the spiritual hub. “That way, in case Zuko manages to meet up with Sokka, they won’t try and kill me! Besides...Sokka might have a soft spot for you.” Katara balled her fists up and forced her expression to stay neutral. She couldn’t let herself get jealous of Ty Lee. Katara was just a baby when he was taken, so it made sense that Sokka liked her more. Besides, it wasn’t Ty Lee’s fault for being so nice to Sokka.

Why was she so angry at her, then?

“Katara, if I’m going, I should take Princess Yue.” Ty Lee took Yue’s hand and gave her a nod of assent before walking over to Appa. “It’s my duty to protect her, so I’m not letting her out of my sight for one minute.”

Suki nodded and sat down, beckoning Katara to follow. “Katara and I will stay here with Momo, in case Aang comes back.”

Ty Lee and Yue flew into the sky and quickly disappeared as if they had been swallowed by the blizzard. 

\---

Zuko felt worse than he had when he entered the spiritual hub. Hell, he felt worse than he’d ever felt in his entire life. As a fire bender, he wasn’t built for trekking in the snow, especially not while carrying an entire twelve-year-old on his back.

However emotionally and physically drained he was, Zuko couldn’t help but feel happy. He had finally captured the avatar, and without a giant army too. He wondered how Zhao would react when he found out the news. Moreover, how would his father react? Would Ozai give him a commander position, and demote Zhao for his failure on the mission?

_ Will Sokka and Uncle still be by my side?  _

Zuko immediately chided himself for such a ridiculous thought. Of course, they would. Uncle would be happy to serve in his army, and Sokka would make a pretty good addition too, considering his crazy plans that always seemed to work. 

Even still, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he wouldn’t be as...close to them as he used to be. If he were promoted to commander, how often would he get to see them? How often would he get to sit down and have some tea with Iroh, or reminisce of the past with Sokka?  
Wait, wait. Once he had the avatar...what was left for him and Sokka?

For the past three years, the only thing he and Sokka had talked about was capturing the avatar. Before that--well, they were still children before that. Zuko used to play war with him, or help him build his crazy contraptions before immediately having to call Uncle for help whenever Sokka got his head or fingers caught in whatever they were building.

They were older now and couldn’t do those things anymore. Zuko didn’t only want to reminisce about the past with Sokka, he...he supposed he wanted a future with him also.

Zuko was immediately jolted back to his surroundings when he heard a crack beneath his feet. Behind him, A giant block of ice collapsed and fell into the watery depths below. Zuko began to sprint, trying to outrun the ever-growing crack of ice that led to more and more blocks of ice sinking. Finally, he came to a cave, where he rushed inside and immediately dropped Aang onto the hard floor. 

It had been hours, and there was no sign of the blizzard stopping. Zuko was trying his best to warm up by using his fire, but it was hardly working. 

“Of course. Of course when I finally have you, I can’t get you home. There always seems to be something…” Zuko trailed off and looked away. “...you wouldn’t get it. You’re like Azula…”

He couldn’t stop the words from coming out. He needed to vent about his sister, his father, everything. He knew Aang couldn’t hear him, but what would it matter if he could? Aang was heading to a Fire Nation prison cell as soon as possible, so it’s not like he could tell anyone what he heard. 

“Then, of course, there’s Sokka…” just the mention of his name made Zuko shiver. With what, he didn’t know. 

“Why can’t every feeling just have a name? Why do some things have to be so complicated, and even when I fight and fight...well, fighting won’t make him like me.” Sokka didn’t care about his war accomplishments, nor did he care about his pursuit in the avatar.

“I like him as a friend, don’t get me wrong,” Zuko assured the unconscious boy, “but it seems like everything I do and say is wrong. And I know it’s wrong, but I don’t know how to stop doing it. He, uh...he got a boner on top of me, you know. It was an accident, but I still yelled at him and shamed him until I was sure he would never show his face again.” Zuko stared out into the blizzard. “But he did. He’s back on the ship right now, with Uncle, and he’s probably wondering how I’m doing just like I’m wondering how he’s doing. You seem like you’re good with people. I wish you could tell me why he doesn’t hate me.

“We killed his mother, you know. Not his real mother, Ms. Asao of the Fire Nation. She was an air bender, like you. We couldn’t afford to keep around any more of those. I don’t think Sokka ever found out. He was always a happy kid. If he did know, I guess he just...didn’t care.”

\---

“...I intend to remove the moon as a factor.”

Sokka’s jaw dropped. He, Zhao and Iroh were trying to plan for the invasion when Iroh had reminded Zhao that they had a time limit. Zhao, however, seemed unaffected. 

How could he remove the moon? Had he been drinking cactus juice? 

“You can’t just remove the moon! It’s like a billion miles away!” Sokka protested.

“Silence,” Zhao shot him a nasty look, “you see, I have a plan. I was just a young lieutenant when--” 

Zhao was quickly interrupted by an invading water tribesman charging towards him, calling him “admiral Choi.” Sokka was able to grab him and simply throw him overboard. 

Once Zhao started talking again, Sokka decided to head inside the ship. He didn’t want to hear about this outlandish idea. He refused to believe anyone could steal the moon. Moreover, if Zhao was going to steal the moon, Sokka didn’t want to get involved. 

Sokka couldn’t help but return to the cabin, sit on his bed, and stare at Zuko’s empty one. He missed his friend, even if they fought a lot. 

_ Should I have told Zuko how I felt before I left? Does he already know? _

Sokka shook his head.  _ No,  _ he reasoned,  _ that just would’ve made everything worse. Would I really want our last conversation to be about that? _

Last conversation. Sokka didn’t mean to think that way, but he realized that he was expecting Zuko to fail. 

What had their last conversation been about? Sokka couldn’t seem to remember now. He figured it was something about the avatar, or tea, or how much he hates his father. 

_ I hope that loon comes home soon. Then we can put this whole avatar mess behind us.  _

Sokka strolled over to Zuko’s bed and absentmindedly stared at the metal turtle duck figure that sat perched at the edge of his bed. Then, it hit him. 

How could he have forgotten? 

His last conversation with Zuko had been one of the best they’d had in a while.

It had happened the day after Zhao had taken their crew. The two boys lied on the cabin floor. 

“You know, Sokka, I always seem to forget how...how much I miss the turtle ducks back home.”

Sokka giggled. Sometimes Zuko would be in these weirdly soft moods, especially right before a big battle or siege. 

“They were great, weren’t they? I mean, old Bobby Jones used to bite me all the time, but that never stopped me from picking them up.” Bobby Jones was the name of a turtle duck at the Royal Palace that Sokka had nicknamed as a kid. He had tried to smuggle it home on multiple occasions, but he usually never got far before receiving a nip from the bird. 

“You never learned to leave turtle ducks undisturbed. They’re beautiful creatures when left to their own devices.”

“Hey!” Sokka protested, “I know that! Excuse me for wanting a pet!”

Zuko let a tiny smile creep across his face, “I think Bobby Jones did like you, though. He was always the first to greet you when you were feeding them.”

Sokka sighed, “yeah, he did, didn’t he? Hey, what did you used to call that one who wouldn’t leave your side as a kid?”

Zuko paused, “...my ducky charm.”

Sokka burst out laughing, “Yeah, yeah! ‘Ooo, c'mere my ducky charm, I loooove you my ducky--’”

“Quit it!” Zuko jokingly punched Sokka in the arm before they dissolved into a fit of laughter. 

“Remember when Azula threatened to eat it, and you just started bawling? Like, you actually believed her?” Sokka was cackling with laughter now, and Zuko had managed a chuckle as well. 

Silence eventually fell over the room, and neither of them wanted to break it. It was a comforting lull that came so infrequently that they wanted to cherish every second of it. 

“Prince Zuko! We need to discuss your plan for when we reach the Northern Water Tribe!” Iroh called from outside. Zuko grunted and stood up, only turning around to smile at Sokka and say, 

“I’ll be back. Don’t worry about me.”

\---

“Look! That’s Aang’s spirit, I know it is!” Suki squealed and pointed in the direction of the flash of light that was speeding towards a nearby cave. “Appa, c’mon boy! This way!” 

Yue and Ty Lee began to circle the cave, closing in when they noticed a boy squirming around in the snow. 

“Aang! Omigosh, Appa, get closer!” Ty Lee pointed downwards.   
As Appa landed next to Aang, who was now accompanied by Zuko, Ty Lee hopped off of the bison and began to run towards him. 

“What did I tell you--Ty Lee?” Zuko wasn’t expecting to see her here, out of all places. He still had faded memories of playing with her and Mai, and he secretly wished he could still be that little boy playing with his friends instead of this prince who needed to uphold his responsibilities. 

Zuko’s momentary confusion gave Ty Lee the perfect opportunity to use her chi blocking techniques on him. Once Zuko collapsed, Ty Lee grabbed Aang, shimmied the rope off of him, and booked it back towards Appa. 

“We need to get back to the oasis! Tui and La--they’re in trouble!”

Ty Lee nodded. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, but I support you one hundred percent! Let’s go!” 

Yue shot Ty Lee a grin and explained, “Tui and La are the moon and ocean spirits. They work in harmony to help the water benders bend, and to keep the water’s ever-flowing waves in a constant, smooth rhythm.”

“Wait, guys…” Aang hadn’t been listening. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from Zuko’s cold, unconscious body. “We have to bring him with us, or he’ll die!”

“But...didn’t he just try and kill you? Am I missing something?” Ty Lee shot a confused look to Yue, who just shrugged. 

“It doesn’t matter. I won’t let him die.” Aang lept from Appa, picked up Zuko, and hauled him onto the bison before they finally set off into the night sky. 

\---

Zhao made it to the oasis before anyone else did. Katara and Suki had fallen asleep, so he was able to capture Tui, the moon spirit, without any intervention. As he did, the moon turned red and cast the tribe in a bloody glow. 

Katara immediately awoke, followed by Suki. “Wh...what are you doing here, Zhao? What’s in the bag?” Katara tried to ready some water to bend, but none came to her. 

“Oh, just doing a little fishing, is all.” He smirked as Suki tried to charge at him. He was able to set her fans on fire and send an additional blast of flame her way as a warning. “If you ladies stay out of my way, I might just spare you.” As if on cue, Zhao’s soldiers surrounded Katara and Suki, limiting their ability to attack Zhao.

“Not so fast,” Aang called as Appa landed with a thud, “you’re not gonna get away with this.”

“He is right.” A voice called from within the darkness. 

Zhao chuckled. “Oh, Iroh, you traitorous old fool. Why am I not surprised?”

“I am no traitor! We need the moon, just as much as the water benders do! The entire world needs that spirit. Without it, the world will fall out of balance.” The figure lowered its hood to reveal an angered Iroh. “Whatever you do to that fish, I will return to you tenfold. Let her go! Now!”

Zhao resigned and slowly dropped Tui back into the ocean. The red hue that had surrounded all of them faded, and for a moment the world seemed to release a sigh of relief.

That is, before Zhao changed his mind.

He let out a scream and shot a blast of flame into the water, perfectly hitting the white fish. Tui floated to the surface, lifeless.

Iroh immediately lunged towards the soldiers and began fighting. He shot as much flame as he could, though no amount could measure his anger at the commander, who was trying to sneak away.

Once commander Zhao and his soldiers had fled, Ty Lee, Iroh, Suki, Katara, Aang, and Yue gathered around the oasis. Aang’s eyes and tattoo’s began to glow as he wordlessly waded into the pool. The eyes of the remaining fish, La, began to glow as well. Aang disappeared under the water and a blue light began to emit from the pool, splashing over the entire tribe. A large, fish-shaped mountain of water rose out of the pool with Aang in the center of it.

He was seeking revenge. 

\---

“She’s dead…” Katara murmured, gazing down into the pool, “she’s really dead…”

Iroh was the only one not staring at the pool; his gaze was locked on Yue. 

“You have been touched by the moon spirit, you have some of her life.” 

Yue shut her eyes at the older man’s words. He was right, but she didn’t want to think about the implications.    
“You’re right. Maybe...maybe I can give it back to her.” Ty Lee gasped at her words. 

“Yue, you can’t! What about your duties as a princess? What about...what about me?” Ty Lee held onto her hand for dear life. Yue couldn’t leave her like this, not when they were just starting to bond.

“Oh, Ty Lee…” She smiled, “...this is my duty.”

“But your dad told me to protect you! What will I do when he finds out?”

Yue turned and stroked Ty Lee’s cheek. “You’ll move on, Ty Lee. I know you will, just like I know in my heart that I need to do this.”

She pulled away from Ty Lee and approached the fish, which Iroh was now holding, and placed her hands atop it. It began to glow, and once it stopped, Yue fainted. 

Ty Lee caught her immediately, her sobs preventing her words from coming out. 

“Yue, I-I told you…” Ty Lee wailed and clutched Yue. “I told you-you shouldn’t have…” She began to wail. The fish, however, had begun to glow again, and Iroh immediately placed it back into the water.

It swam around, earning awe-inspired gasps. She was alive!   
A cloud of mist gathered above the newly live fish, taking the shape of Yue. 

“I’ll always be with you, Ty Lee.” The spirit of Yue floated down towards Ty Lee and touched her lips against hers.

Ty Lee kissed back urgently, thinking that if she just didn’t let go, if she could keep kissing her forever, Yue wouldn’t leave her. The spirit’s lips were soft and cold, and the gentleness of her touch was enough to make Ty Lee start crying again.

As soon as the kiss began, it ended. Yue’s spirit faded and Ty Lee collapsed to her knees in sobs. The moon hung benevolently in the sky, and Aang had been able to fight off the Fire Nation invaders, but at what cost?


	16. Day at the beach

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Katara gives Suki something special, Sokka and Zuko try and have fun in the ocean.

Aang and his friends decided to stay a bit longer in the Northern Water Tribe before setting off towards the Earth Kingdom. During that time, as thanks for defeating Zhao, master Pakku allowed Katara to extensively train with him. Moreover, she learned quickly that he had almost married her grandmother. Kya had told Katara stories about Pakku as well as Gran Gran’s noble escape towards a better life in the Southern Water Tribe. After getting over her initial shock and anger, Katara and Pakku became acquainted quickly and even found it hard to say goodbye once it was time to leave. 

After a sorrowful farewell, the crew hopped onto Appa and launched into the sky, finally setting off and leaving their previous sorrows in the Northern Water Tribe.

Well, most of them anyway.

“I’m going back to sleep.” Once they were in the air, Ty Lee laid her head down on Appa’s back, and Momo curled into a ball around her head. 

“Aw, Ty Lee…” Katara could sense her grief as if it were her own. “...we’re always here if you need to talk. We know how hard it must have been for you to lose Yue. I mean, I think all of us have lost at least one person to the Fire Nation.” 

“I know, it’s stupid. But she was the first girl who’s actually liked me back before.” Ty Lee clutched her legs tighter. How could she explain that she was afraid she had missed her one chance at love? 

“People will come and go into your life. That’s just how things are, especially with the war.” Katara stroked Ty Lee’s cheek, “the important thing to remember is that, no matter how dark things get, you’ll always have us by your side.”

“Besides,” Suki added, “you’re a catch! You’re a chi-blocker who can walk on her hands. Plus, you’re great at making people feel better. You were there for me when Katara was captured, remember? And when those Northern Water Tribe jerks wouldn’t listen to me about Zhao?”

Ty Lee broke into a smile and nodded, turning her head to finally look at the two girls. 

“Thanks. Both of you.”

“Of course! Now, get some sleep.” Katara gazed down at Ty Lee, whose eyelids had grown heavy.

Within seconds, Ty Lee was out and snoring. 

“How’s she doing?” Aang called from up front. He wished he could’ve been there more for Ty Lee, but he needed to make sure Appa stayed on course. 

Suki gave him a thumbs up and pushed her index finger to her lips, signaling for quiet. In return, Aang nodded and turned back towards the front. 

Katara curled into Suki. They finally had a moment of peace and quiet; there was no fighting, nobody was hurt or missing, and Aang was finally moving on to the next leg of his journey. 

Katara decided to seize her chance. 

Before leaving, Pakku had shown Katara how to make her own betrothal necklace. She didn’t want to propose to Suki, of course; they were both children and weren’t even officially dating yet. However, Katara figured the gesture of giving her a necklace of her own would still be fitting.

“Hey Suki, I actually have a surprise for you…” Katara rustled around in her bag before pulling out the gorgeous necklace. Not only did it have a charm showing the water bending symbol, but it also had some green accents to represent the Earth Kingdom, Suki’s original home. 

Suki’s eyes lit up as she gingerly took the necklace into her hands. “Kat, it...it’s gorgeous!”

“I’m glad you like it.” Katara knew it was now or never. She took a deep breath. “You know, those necklaces traditionally are given to future brides as engagement gifts. They represent your relationship status, in a way.”

Suki stared down at the necklace. There was no way Katara was asking for her hand in marriage, right?

As if reading her mind, Katara quickly added, “I’m not proposing to you, don’t worry. I-I just thought...I mean, we’ve bonded so much over these past few months and--”

Suki leaned in and kissed Katara, turning her words into soft, appreciative sighs. Her lips were soft and tender, and Katara felt as though she had been waiting her whole life for this moment. She leaned into Suki, trying to savor every second that their lips were connected. 

Suki eventually pulled away and took Katara’s hands in hers. 

“I would be honored to be your girlfriend.”

\---

After their failed attempt to capture the avatar, Zuko, Iroh, and Sokka had quickly sailed away from the scene and towards the nearest Fire Nation colony they could find. The nearest colony happened to be in the Earth Kingdom, near the Northern Air Temple. 

Well, that was the closest landmark they could find. The colony they landed at, along with the ones surrounding it, had no real outstanding features. They all consisted of lower class, miserable Earth Kingdom folks being ruled day and night by Fire Nation soldiers. 

The only redeeming quality this colony had was that it had a beach. 

“Well, there don’t seem to be any Fire Nation soldiers here.” Sokka scanned the empty beach with a bit of optimism. He figured the Earth Kingdom citizens were too busy trying to make a living to go to the beach, and the soldiers were too busy watching their every move. 

“That is exactly why we’re going swimming!” Iroh emerged in swim trunks, holding a towel in one hand and a cup of tea in the other. It was only early spring, but it was an unusually warm day; a day perfect for going to the beach.

Swimming? Sokka had never swum before. He gulped, but relaxed when he remembered that he didn’t even  _ own  _ a bathing suit. He couldn’t drown if he never set foot in the water, right?

No such luck. 

“Here, I have a few extras.” Zuko was already dressed in red swim trunks, and he didn’t even pause as he passed an extra pair to Sokka. While he wanted to keep going on his search for the avatar, Zuko was drained after their last attempt and couldn’t deny that he needed a break.

_ Of course, this is the one time he decides to be nice.  _ Sokka rolled his eyes and went back inside the ship to change. 

“Sokka, come on!” Zuko yelled. He was in the water, bobbing among the waves and staring down at his friend, who was sitting on a towel, digging a hole in the sand. Sokka had never seen sand before, and he was enthralled by how liquid-like the solid was. It slipped between his fingers, caved under his feet, but was still as solid as any non-malleable solid. Moreover, while the shore as a whole was completely solid and immovable, it was made of millions of minuscule grains of sand. 

“I’m good, thanks!” Sokka smiled and resumed his digging. 

Zuko had a suspicion that Sokka didn't know how to swim. However, instead of admitting the truth, Sokka was just lying to his face. 

Zuko emerged from the water, smoke coming out of his nose, and walked up to Sokka. Before he even got a chance to react, Sokka found himself being pulled into the water by Zuko, who was dragging the other boy by the hair. 

“Ow--Zuko, stop! I’m-I’m coming!” Once they were up to their hips, Zuko let go and sank back down until his shoulders were immersed in the water. 

“What, are you scared?” Zuko splashed Sokka, who still hadn’t made any move to move deeper into the water. 

“No--look, I’m getting in right now…” Oh, boy. How was it possible that he, a boy born in the Southern Water Tribe, had no idea how to swim? 

He relaxed once the water reached his shoulders. He didn’t need to go underwater, right? As long as his feet were sturdy in the sand, he felt safe. 

Zuko nodded. “I’m impressed, I didn’t actually think--” He was cut off by a giant wave crashing down on both of them

Sokka began freaking out once his head became submerged. He flailed his arms wildly and kicked his legs frantically, but he couldn’t reach the surface. When he tried positioning himself so that his feet touched the sandy floor, he found that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t locate it. 

His thoughts became fuzzy, and he was beginning to lose his sense of which way was up and which way was down. He could feel himself being pulled out further and further, so what was the point of struggling?

Sokka almost felt relieved. If he drowned now, then Zuko could have a normal, happy life once he captured the avatar. He didn’t have to deal with babysitting his idiotic, gay friend who followed him around like a polar bear dog. 

_ Polar bear dog... _ Sokka thought drowsily,  _ where have I seen one of those?  _

With one last huff of breath, Sokka went limp and let his body be carried by the waves.

Zuko, who had washed up unharmed onshore, stared out into the sea. 

“Sokka?” He called, “Sokka!” 

“Is he okay?” Iroh immediately got off of his towel and prepared to jump into the water. “Don’t worry, nephew. I’ll get him.”

“No.” Zuko put his hand out to stop Iroh from jumping in. “I got him into this mess, now I’m going to get him out.” 

Zuko hurled himself into the water with a splash, fighting against the ever-growing waves. Once underwater, he forced himself to keep his eyes open, despite how much it burned. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a large, unmoving mass. 

_ That’s him.  _ Zuko began to swim forward, propelling himself using his arms and legs. Once he was face to face with the mass, which he now recognized as Sokka, Zuko was horrified to find that he was unconscious. 

Zuko picked him up and emerged from underwater. He hurled Sokka over his shoulder and began to paddle his way back to shore. 

“Boys...boys, are you okay?” Iroh was pacing the beach frantically. 

Zuko crawled up onto the shore, Sokka falling to the ground beside him. 

“I am, but I’m not sure about Sokka.”

Iroh slung one arm around Sokka’s stomach, positioning him so that his head faced the sand, and began slapping his back ruthlessly in an attempt to get the water out of his system. Zuko couldn’t watch; he couldn’t bear the thought of losing his best friend. 

_ Who will I have if he’s gone? Uncle?  _ Zuko shook his head.  _ He’s a pain, but I need Sokka to keep me sane. I need his ideas, his wit, his-his loyalty… _

Zuko whirled around at the sound of coughing and groaning. Sokka had pushed his way out of Iroh’s arms and sat keeled over, coughing into his hand. 

“You really had us worried there, Sokka.” Iroh rubbed his back. “I should have known. The Asao’s never cared enough about their children to provide swimming lessons.”

“No...Sisters learned...took all-girls class...not me…” Sokka managed to say between coughs. 

“Save your breath. I think our little beach day is over.” Zuko came and sat down across from Sokka, whose coughs had started to subside.

“Sorry I kinda ruined it…” Sokka smiled sheepishly. 

Zuko shrugged. “I shouldn’t have forced you into the water. Once I capture the avatar and regain my throne, we can take a trip to Ember Island. My family goes there every year, and the waves are easy to swim in. I’ll teach you.”

Sokka’s face brightened at his words. He’d only heard about Ember Island from the royal family’s stories; he couldn’t believe he’d finally be able to go himself. Moreover, Zuko’s words suggested that, even after he captured the avatar, Sokka would still be in his life. 

Zuko stood up and offered his hand to Sokka. He gratefully took it and hauled himself up with a smile. 

“You’ve got a deal.”


	17. The anniversary

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zuko gets a special visitor, Aang tries to channel his avatar state.

Zuko was tired. 

He had spent exactly three years in exile from his father, and had spent most of those days chasing the avatar. For two of those three years he believed that the avatar was dead. He thought that knowing Aang was alive would bring him hope, or at least lessen his agony a bit. As it turns out, it hurts more when you can’t do something once you know it’s possible. 

While his uncle was getting a massage at a local Earth Kingdom spa, Zuko sat outside, watching the cherry blossoms fall. It was already spring. How could it already be spring?

He was so entranced in watching the petals that he couldn’t help but let out a gasp of surprise when he noticed Sokka had plopped down next to him. 

“Sorry! Sorry.” While Sokka would’ve loved a calming massage, he could sense that something was up with Zuko. He was in a worse mood than usual. 

Plus, all of the masseuses were working on straightening out Iroh’s back. While they had managed to leave the Northern Water Tribe on one of Zhao’s ships, which was equipped with enough supplies and food for weeks, and stop for a beach day along the way, the past month had put a strain on all of them.

“It’s fine.” Zuko didn’t even bother to look Sokka in the eye. He didn’t deserve to. He was just a failure. An exile, driven out by his own father. 

Sokka thought for a minute. He wasn’t good at remembering things, especially not since the past three years had practically been a blur. But he did remember that, when he was first leaving with Zuko and Iroh, the leaves on the cherry blossom trees had been this exact same shade of pink…

“Oh, man! Is it...y’know, your anniversary?” Zuko just grunted in response. He didn’t want to hear any of Sokka’s jokes, the jokes that Zuko knew he’d make because Sokka always tried to lighten the mood.

“Aw, I-I’m sorry. Life...life is hard, Zuko.” Sokka didn’t know what to say. He never knew what to say on The Anniversary. At first, he used to try and make jokes and lighten Zuko’s mood. His jokes always made Zuko happy before he was exiled, but they only seemed to make him angrier when they were directed towards his father. 

Iroh, who had finished getting his massage, sat down wordlessly and placed a comforting hand on Zuko’s shoulder. He knew exactly what day it was; he could tell by Zuko’s expression.

“You’re right, Sokka. Life  _ is  _ hard.” Zuko pulled his knee closer to his chest. “I just want my father to...to respect me. I want to be an heir he can be proud of.”

“Oh, Zuko. I am sure he cares about you! Would he have banished you if he thought you were worthless?” At Iroh’s slightly callous words, Zuko stood up and left. Sokka exchanged a grimace with Iroh before running to catch up with Zuko. 

“Hey--wait up!” Sokka panted and placed a hand on Zuko’s shoulder. 

“What? Nothing you can say will make me feel better. Not unless you can tell me honestly that my father wants me back or that you have the avatar.”

“Well, you know I can’t do that. I don’t know what Ozai’s thinking or feeling. But I do know that we want you. You’re great to have around, Zuko, even if you like to be all broody and focused most of the time. Ozai must have to be an idiot if he didn’t want you around.” Sokka spread his arms, beckoning Zuko in for a hug. Zuko, however, looked even angrier. “Now, c’mon, gimme a--”

“NO. No one talks about father like that. Especially not you. You don’t know what you’re talking about. Just keep your mouth shut and stay out of my way.” Zuko resumed storming away. 

Sokka didn’t bother following him. 

\---

It had been years since Azula had seen Zuko, Iroh, or Sokka. She didn’t care, really. In fact, she wouldn’t have even sought them out if her father hadn’t sent her on this mission.

She was practicing her lightning forms against the setting sun, trying to keep her mind from wandering to her imperfections. 

_ Almost perfect isn’t good enough. If I’m going to capture those buffoons, I need absolute perfection.  _

Azula redid her last form, completing it perfectly without a singular hair out of place. Lo and Li, who had been watching in the distance, began clapping softly before standing up. 

“Alright, Azula. Get some rest,” Lo said before entering the ship, “you’ll need your wits about you tomorrow.”

“You don’t know what’s best for me.” Azula shot back, though the two older women were already out of earshot. 

Azula did decide to sit down for a moment, just to reflect on her plan. Iroh, Sokka, and Zuko couldn’t have changed too much from when they were exiled. They were still likely to be soft, naive idiots who had no idea what was coming to them. 

Azula grinned at the thought of imprisoning her older brother. She didn’t really care what happened to Sokka or Iroh after their capture, though she personally wanted to defeat Sokka in battle. She couldn’t get the image of the scrawny little Water Tribe kid out of her head, running in circles around her and always claiming he could take her out with his boomerang.

Azula stood back up and took her first position, readying herself to perform her stances from the beginning. 

_ Let’s see what good your little boomerang does you now.  _

\---

“Katara, Suki, I don’t have time to master all four elements. The Earth Kingdom needs me now! This is the easiest way to defeat the Fire Lord!” Aang had agreed to help an Earth Kingdom general, General Fung, defeat the Fire Lord by going into the avatar state and wiping out all of his militia. Aang didn’t want any more innocent people to die, and how could he reject the general’s idea with good conscience if he knew so many people were being killed every day? 

“Go ahead, Aang! Glow it up! It’s not like we’ve been working for months and months on your training!” Katara stood up and started pacing. “What am I even doing here? You don’t need me! You don’t need the elements if you’re just going to go into the  _ avatar state.”  _

She stormed away, mumbling something about needing a walk. Suki decided to let her breathe; Katara was vicious when she was angry, and she felt she could calmly talk some sense into Aang alone.

“Aang, we just met this guy. You really want to trust him?”

Aang shrugged, “I mean, he’s on our side, isn’t he?”

“He is…” Suki thought for a moment. “...you know, some people have good intentions, but don’t really think things through. Our plan is really well thought out. How can you master the avatar state when you don’t even have someone trained to guide you? Say you decide to go through with this. What if you’re in the middle of the invasion and you snap out of the avatar state? Aang, you’re still just a kid who, so far, has only mastered two types of bending. If you go through with this and then somehow lose touch with your avatar state, you’re done for.”

Aang wearily nodded along. Somewhere in his brain he knew she was right, but he couldn’t admit it. He had already promised General Fung he’d go through with it. He couldn’t back out now!

“Good night, Suki.” Aang laid back down and pretended to fall back asleep.

\---

Iroh had stopped by the beach again to pick up some pretty shells. He laid them out on the floor of the house they were staying in, much to the chagrin of Zuko.

“Uncle, we can’t carry these around. We can only take what’s necessary.” It was enough of a hassle to carry food, water, and sheltering materials. “We have to keep moving. The avatar couldn’t have made it far, we just have to keep searching.”

“Aw, but Zuko, they’re prettyyyy--” Sokka’s whining was cut off when he noticed a shadow in the corner. 

“Hello, boys.” Azula stepped into the light, a mischievous smirk spread across her face. 

“Azula?” Sokka hadn’t seen her in three years! He couldn’t help but feel more curious than scared. “What’re you doing here? Shouldn’t you, y’know, be doing scary Fire Princess business?”

“So quick to get to the point. Makes sense, coming from a Water Tribe peasant.” Iroh had to hold Sokka back to keep him from lunging at her. “I’m taking you two home. Father has gotten wind of some plans to overthrow him, so he wants to make sure his beloved son and brother are home soon. After all,” she shot a glare at Sokka, “family are the only ones you can really trust.”

“Hey, watch it!” Sokka couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Where would he be left without Zuko and Iroh? Would he be stranded in the Earth Kingdom, forced to move to the lowest ring of Ba Sing Se?   
Or, could he finally return home, to the Southern Water Tribe?

A small part of him almost wished he could return. He wished his loyalty had an end, that he didn’t care for Zuko and Iroh so much. If only he could just let them go and return to where he belonged…

“I will go if you are willing to let Sokka join me.” 

Azula just sneered at Iroh. “Really, Uncle? I mean, we can find you a servant as soon as we get back to the Palace. We don’t need to keep this one around.”

Iroh shook his head. He didn’t just want Sokka around for himself; he knew that if Zuko returned home without Sokka, he’d regret it. However, he couldn’t just admit that to Azula. “Sokka will be very valuable to the Fire Nation; his ideas are revolutionary.” Iroh bowed to Azula. “Please, respect my wishes and allow him to come home.”

“Fine. Zuzu, are you coming?” Azula turned to Zuko, who was staring out the window with a spacey look on his face. “You still haven’t thanked me for telling you, you know.”

“Father really wants me to come home? I can finally regain my throne?” Zuko couldn’t believe what he was hearing. It almost sounded too good to be true! But why would Azula lie about something like this, something so important like bringing home two exiled members of the Fire Nation?

Once Azula had left, Zuko started pacing around the small, abandoned house while Iroh and Sokka sat on the floor. 

“We’re returning home! Father really does care about me!” This was the happiest Zuko had sounded in three years, which is why it pained Sokka to burst his bubble. 

“Do you...really think Ozai regrets what he did? Like, he’s had three years to think about how he exiled you. Three years! Did he just wake up today and think ‘gee whiz, I really miss having my son around, even though I scarred his face and banished him’” Sokka winced, realizing how harsh his words sounded.

“Maybe! You don’t know what he’s thinking!” Zuko fired back, “all that matters is that father wants me home. If you don’t like it, you don’t have to come.”

“Zuko, we care about you!” Iroh exclaimed, “besides, in our family...deception occurs more often that you may think. If my brother wants you home, I don’t think it’s because he regrets his decisions.” Sokka nodded along with Iroh’s words.

“You both have no idea what you’re talking about.” Zuko was fuming. “Besides, why should I listen to either of you? Uncle, you’re just a lazy, gluttonous, shallow old man who’s always wanted the throne for himself. And Sokka, nobody even wants you to come! Spirits, I’d be happier if you didn’t come with us back to the Fire Nation!”

He shouldn’t get emotional. Zuko was just angry, Sokka knew he was just angry. Even still, he couldn’t stop the tears from brewing in his eyes. “Fine! Maybe I’ll just stay here. Good luck without me, prince jerk-wad.” Sokka stormed out of the house and slammed the door behind him. Where was he even planning to go? Was he really going to let his only friends leave him? He had been so, so grateful for Iroh’s suggestion to Azula to let him return. Why was he blowing it?

_ Whatever. Maybe-maybe I’ll catch a boat to the Southern Water Tribe.  _ He tried to convince himself of the plan while he walked off into the chilly night.

\---

“Katara, you were right.” Aang was sitting up in his bed, having just awoken from a nightmare. He’d dreamt that a version of him with glowing eyes and tattoos had just used water bending to haul him off of the ship. This alternate version of him had been aiming towards a scared Zuko when Aang woke up. 

“Thank spirits, you’ve come to your senses.” Katara sighed and woke Suki up, who was sleeping next to her. “Suki, Suki, Aang’s not gonna go through with it!”

“Wh...but will he listen? General...whozit?” Suki tossed and turned while she mumbled, trying to go back to sleep.

“In the end, it’s Aang’s choice. And I think you’re making the right one.” Katara smiled at him before laying back down and wrapping an arm around Suki.

\---

Both Iroh  _ and  _ Sokka had decided to bail on going home to the Fire Nation, much to Zuko’s chagrin. He hated to admit it, but he would miss them both. As he walked towards the Fire Nation ship, he couldn’t help but wonder what would become of his beloved uncle and his best friend. He was so engrossed in his thoughts he almost missed the voice coming from behind him.

“Wait, wait!” Iroh called.

“Uncle! You’re coming after all!” Zuko couldn’t help but smile. However, the sadness still didn’t leave his eyes. Where was Sokka? Had he not returned the night before, had Uncle not been able to find him?

“Family sticks together.” They looked at each other fondly for a moment before Iroh broke the silence, saying what they both were thinking. “I wish Sokka had decided to come.”

Zuko nodded absently. He would miss Sokka, but he couldn’t do anything about it now. “At least we’re finally going home.”

Unbeknownst to them, Sokka was hiding in the bushes that lined the trail down to the ship. Before he left for home--well, what he should consider his home--he wanted to see Iroh and Zuko off. He still didn’t trust Azula, not after all of the stunts she’s pulled in the past.

“Brother, Uncle. I’m so glad you could make it.” Her smile actually seemed genuine to Sokka. Could she really be bringing them home for good?

“I’m ready to go home.” Zuko murmured in a voice Sokka could barely hear. 

“You heard him, Captain. Set a course for home!” Azula nodded to the captain of the ship, who was escorting Iroh and Zuko up the ramp to the ship. 

“Alright, men! Let’s get these prisoners on board and set a cou...” The commander trailed off once he realized his mistake. He had meant to say guests instead of prisoners, but it was too late. The secret was out. 

“Please, your majesty, I--” Iroh immediately yanked the commander to the side and began to swing his fists towards the other soldiers, who had begun to close in on the two. Sokka saw the scene unfold and sprung into action. He hadn’t heard what exactly happened, but he wasn’t surprised. Azula was always up to no good. 

Zuko began throwing punches as well, though he didn’t need to. Right as he was about to throw a soldier overboard, a boomerang flew forward and hit the soldier in the head. 

_ He’s still here…?  _ Zuko looked to the left and saw Sokka standing on shore, boomerang in hand.

He couldn’t process that right now. Zuko was too focused on the anger beginning to fester, clawing its way from his stomach and spreading all throughout his body. 

“You lied to me!” He spat at Azula, who simply scoffed. 

“You’re really surprised, Zuzu?” She backed onto the ship and the last of her soldiers began shooting flames towards him. 

\---

Aang had been running around all morning, trying to avoid the general’s attacks. He hadn’t listened to Aang’s wants and still insisted on forcing him into the avatar state, this time using violence. 

“Appa! We’re leaving” Aang shouted and Appa appeared in the air and landed on the ground, waiting for Aang, Suki and Katara to stop fighting and to hop on.

General Fung had other ideas. He began to twist the ground around Appa, entrapping his paws in a layer of earth. The bison began to rumble and howl as he kept sinking lower and lower, until he was up to his stomach.

“Let Appa go, now!” Aang rushed over to the general and began to beg. “I’m trying to get into the avatar state, I am! But doing this isn’t gonna help!” Tears flowed from the boy's eyes. He stared at Appa as he sunk deeper and deeper into the sand, his growls becoming increasingly more frantic.

“You could save him if you were in the avatar state,” Fung sneered, “this is your last chance, Aang.” 

Aang sprinted towards Appa, though when he went to reach for the bison, he disappeared completely under the ground, and Aang’s fingers only managed to grab air.

\---

Zuko had managed to ditch the soldiers and leave the ones who were still standing for Iroh and Sokka to fight. He had climbed up the ship and managed to come face to face with Azula. He began to spin his arms, creating a swirl of fire, and directed it towards his sister. She easily dodged, and when he came lunging at her with fire in his hands, she was able to push him away. 

“You know, father thinks you’re a failure and Uncle a senile old bag of bones!” She grinned wickedly. “He only wanted to lock you two up so you’d stay out of his way for good.”

Zuko continued to lunge and blast fire towards Azula, but it was no use. Every advance he made, every attack he planned, she was able to dodge and strike back threefold. Eventually, she was able to grab his wrist and throw him to the ground. While he lay in a daze, Azula began to create sparks from her hands: blue sparks. As the sparks turned to full rings of lightning, she aimed her hand towards Zuko. Before she could strike, however, Sokka ran up to Zuko and began dragging him away while Iroh stormed up to Azula and grabbed the lightning from her palms, redirecting it towards the shore.

\---

Aang.

Was.

Pissed.

He had finally managed to get into the avatar state, but at the cost of his best friend’s life. He wasn’t going to use his energy to fight the Fire Lord for General Fung. No, he was going to go after the general himself. 

“Aang, Aang! Your Bison is safe!” General Fung had rushed over and bended Appa back to ground-level. The bison shook out his fur and began panting before running away from General Fung. “I just wanted to trigger the avatar state!” Aang crashed back down to the ground and caused the earth below him to erode and rise, knocking soldiers off of their ostrich horses and General Fung off of his feet. He then sent out a strong gust of air which destroyed the surrounding buildings. 

Aang stomped over to Fung and blasted him against the surrounding rock wall using a gust of air. Once Fung hit the wall, Aang collapsed. Katara was just barely able to catch him before he hit the ground.

\---

“These three traitors must be found and reported to me. If you harbor any of them, you will face my wrath!” Azula towered over a group of Earth Kingdom citizens, a poster of Iroh, Sokka, and Zuko in her hand. 

The trio had managed to flee the ship and put enough distance between them and Azula to be safe. Once they reached a nearby river, they decided to stop and rest. 

Zuko took out his knife. They had all heard Azula’s warning; her voice was as loud and as powerful as her actions. He knew that they all had to hide. 

He ran the knife along the top of his head, cleanly slicing off his ponytail so that way only a square of hair remained. 

Iroh took the knife next and cut off the section of his hair that was tied to the top of his head. It was a small knot, but it was enough.

Sokka’s hair style was hard to miss. It signified who he was: an outcast who didn’t really belong or come from anywhere specific. In order to blend in, he’d need to make some serious changes. 

He pulled a spare hair tie from his pocket, took the top layer of his hair and tied it behind him. The rest of his hair he carefully sheared off with the knife, until all that remained was the ponytail. As the last of his hair fell into the river, he couldn’t help but feel lighter, almost free. He could finally become whoever he wanted! No more “Sokka the useless one,” or “Sokka, the one who doesn’t really belong.” Spirits, he didn’t even have to stay Sokka at all. 

“Hey,” Sokka, turned to Zuko suddenly, a grin on his face. He was tired of all the angst and sadness that had been surrounding them recently. He hoped that with these haircuts could come a new chapter in their lives, a happier one. “You kinda look like an egg with only that square of hair on your head.”

“Zip it, ponytail.”

“Whatever you say, egghead.”


	18. Secret tunnel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Suki and Katara have a bit of a fight, Sokka confides in a stranger.

It had only taken two days and a lot of rest, but Ty Lee was finally starting to feel like her old self again. While Aang had been working with General Fong, she had been sleeping inside of the guest quarters. Everyone seemed to have an unspoken agreement not to disturb her, although this came back to bite them when they almost forgot to grab her when they were leaving General Fong’s. 

They had stopped at a river on their journey to Omashu. Aang still needed to practice his water bending with Katara, and Suki and Ty Lee were happy for a little swim break. 

“Well, guess I’ll just...live in soggy clothes now.” Suki lifted her drenched arms after fully wading into the water. 

“Oh, cheer up! The weather’s turning, so you won’t become a sukicicle.” Katara yelped when Suki splashed her at the comment. 

“Yeah, Suki! My aura hasn’t been this pink in a long time!” Ty Lee added, her head bobbing just barely above the water. 

Once Katara and Aang resumed their water bending practice, Suki doggy paddled her way over to Ty Lee, who was farther from the shore.

“How’re you feeling?” 

Ty Lee shrugged. “I’m okay I guess. Better than I was a week ago.” She looked up and scanned the sky. “I still can’t look at the moon without thinking about her face.”

Suki smiled and put an arm around her shoulder, trying to comfort her friend. “It’ll get better, Ty. You’ll find someone else.”

“It’s not just that!” She protested. “I’m not just sad because I can’t date her, I’m sad because, well...because the Northern Water Tribe lost a really, really great person. And princess.”

“She was great, wasn’t she?” Suki guided Ty Lee closer to shore. She was starting to get a bit cold. “Just know that she’ll always be watching over you and the Northern Water Tribe. She loved you a lot.”

“Thanks, Suki.” Ty Lee suddenly perked up at the sound of music; it was far away, but growing closer by the minute. 

_ “Don’t fall in love with the traveling girl” _

_ “She’ll leave you broke and broken-hearted…” _

\---

Iroh was staring at a gorgeous red and white flower while Zuko struggled in the bushes. His hair was growing in nicely, thank spirits. However, he missed not having to live off of the land. 

“Uncle, this is impossible! How am I supposed to be a fugitive when there’s nothing to eat around here?” Zuko kicked the ground. 

Sokka appeared, fish in hand. “What are you complaining about? There’s a river down that way. Just catch some fish.”

“Easy for you to say,” Zuko shot back, “you have a weapon you can use.” 

“Boys, boys! Stop fighting and come look…!” Iroh was still staring at the flower in awe. “This is a rare dragon bush. Its leaves make a delicious tea that is out of this world!” He paused for a second. “Hm...it could also be the white jade bush, which is extremely poisonous.” 

“Uncle, we don’t need tea. We need food.” Sokka held his fish up smugly, causing Zuko to get even angrier. “I’m going fishing.”

Once Zuko stormed off, Sokka sat down next to Iroh. 

“So, this plant, huh? You really want to risk it for some tea?”

“Sokka, you have no idea how delicious a cup of dragon bush tea is. I do not even know how delicious it is! I’ve only heard about it in legends…”

“You could die, Iroh.”

Iroh just hummed and began to pluck the flower petals. 

“That is a risk I am willing to take.”

\---

The gang had gathered around Chong and his pals, listening to him tell stories of far away lands and ancient relics that he’s seen. Lily had begun to braid Katara, and Suki’s hair, as well as Appa’s fur while Ty Lee and Aang sat next to Chong.

“Oh, oh! Have you heard about the tunnel to Omashu?”

Aang sat up. He had been half asleep; hearing the city’s name had jolted him awake. 

“That’s where we need to go! Is it a shortcut?”

Chong nodded. “Yeah, sorta. It’s a secret pass, little man. It goes right through the mountains.”

“This is real, right? Not like the story about the giant, man-eating hog monkey?” Katara asked while Suki tried to suppress a snicker.

“Oh, it’s as real as Mister Furry Foot, alright. There’s a song about it, too…”

Katara sighed, and Suki tried to comfort her. “It’s okay. This song can’t be worse than the Furry Footed Ballad!”

_ “Two lovers, forbidden from one another,” _

_ “A war divides their people,” _

_ “And a mountain divides them apart,” _

_ “Built a path to be together…” _

“I uh, I forget the next couple lines,” Chong smiled cheekily, “but then it goes…”

_ “SECRET TUNNEL...secret tunnel…through the mountains...secret, secret, secret, secret tunnel…! Yeah!” _

The group’s performance had earned a smattering of applause from Aang, Ty Lee, Suki, and Katara. 

“Your song was great!” Aang exclaimed. “But I think we’ll have to stick with flying. Appa doesn’t like going underground. Besides, how bad could flying be?”

“I dunno little arrowhead,” Chong cast a glance behind him, “this place is crawling with Fire Nation ships. I bet they’d try and take you if you decide to go airborne.”

“Let me go investigate.” Suki stood up and walked forward, through the woods, leaving the rest of the gang with the nomads.

“Wow…” Ty Lee stood up and waltzed over to Lily, “...your aura is a gorgeous shade of purple!”

Lily giggled, “you’re telling me! I’ve been working for years to maintain my aura. This type of brilliance requires hard work and dedication.”

While Ty Lee plopped herself in front of Lily, prepared for an in-depth discussion, Katara decided to practice water bending with Aang.

“Guys, Chong’s right. There are Fire Nation ships in every direction.” Suki had climbed onto a rock near the ocean shore and found dozens upon dozens of ships. When she looked in the direction they had come, she could see dark outlines of ships on the horizon. 

“Well, then I guess there’s no choice but to take the love tunnel.” Katara waded out from the lake and slung an arm around Suki. 

Ty Lee, whose hair had been tied into small braids adorned with pink flowers, let out a squeal. “An adventure straight from a legend! This is so exciting!”

\---

Zuko trudged back to camp, bearing only a large stick and a tiny fish. It was hardly enough for a single mouthful; there was no way it could feed three people. 

“Zuko! Thank agni you’re here.” Sokka leapt up from where he had been sitting next to Iroh. “Something’s wrong with Iroh.”

“What? He didn’t...”

“I...may have encouraged him to…” Zuko punched Sokka in the arm. “Ow--hey! I just wanted some tasty tea, alright?”

“Zuko, don’t worry. I’m fine.” Iroh had taken to scratching his back with a stick. He was completely covered in a red rash, and his face had swelled immensely. “Although, I may not be if the rash spreads to my throat…”

“But hey, on the bright side, he managed to find the cure!” Sokka grabbed the branch from out of Iroh’s hand. “These berries are guaranteed to cure the white jade poison, right?”

Iroh had pushed himself up against a tree and was rubbing his back against it vigorously. “Not exactly. Those berries might not help stop the poison at all, and instead may cause blindness.”

“Enough with the berries! We need to get you help.”

“But Zuko, we can’t just stroll into the Earth Kingdom.” Sokka sighed and threw the berries to the side. “They’ll have us killed. We’re part of the Fire Nation, remember?”

“Well, we are technically fugitives.” Iroh bent over and began scratching his legs frantically. “If we go to the Earth Kingdom, we may die. But if we go to the Fire Nation, we’ll be turned over to Azula.”

They all winced at each other and nodded, each coming to the same understanding.

“Earth Kingdom it is.”

\---

“The curse says that only those who trust in love can make it out alive.”

While Aang and Ty Lee exchanged nervous glances, Katara just grabbed Suki’s hand determinedly.

“We’ll be fine, then.” 

“We better get going,” Aang couldn’t help but stare in the distance, where smoke was beginning to rise. “It looks like the Fire Nation’s onto us!”

Fire Nation tanks rolled up to the entrance and stared the gang down while they traipsed further into the cave. The soldiers eventually agreed to simply close off the cave entrance; they figured there was no way they could make it out of the caves alive.

While Aang, Katara, and Ty Lee couldn’t help but stare at the collapsed entrance in fear, Suki was focused on moving forward.

“C’mon, if we’re going to make it out of here, we need to start moving. I’m going to try and make a map. Everybody, stay by my side.” Suki was determined to make it out of here in one piece.

Katara hurried to catch up with Suki and placed a hand on her girlfriend’s shoulder. 

“Do you really think we’ll be okay?” 

Suki nodded. “Of course, Kat. when have we ever not been?”

\---

After finding some locals, Iroh was able to receive treatment for his worsening rash. The woman who helped Iroh, Song, was curious to know where the three of them were from.

“Oh..! W-Well, I’m Lee, and this is my Uncle...Mushi! And my friend, uh…” Zuko’s eyes drifted over to the rocky walls. “Grey...Grey Stohne.”

Sokka facepalmed. Could Zuko have done any worse with the names?

Iroh didn’t look too happy either. “Yes, my nephew’s name is Lee, but everyone just calls him Junior. He was named after his father, you know.”

Song hummed to herself. “Lee, Grey, and Mushi…you three look like you could use a nice meal. Can you stay for dinner?”   
“Yes!” Sokka couldn’t help the words from tumbling out. “I mean, uh, yes...please…”

“Sorry, but I’m afraid Grey is wrong. We need to get moving.”

“Well, it wouldn’t be fair to turn down such a generous offer, now would it, Junior?” Iroh elbowed Zuko as he stood up.

\---

“Suki, hon, I don’t think the map is working...it’s another dead en--”

“I know it’s a dead-end!” Suki snapped, crumpling up her map. She then put her fingers on the bridge of her nose, “It just--none of this makes sense. How is this a dead end? I thought we already came through here!”

“Aw c’mon, you don’t need a map! All you need is love! C’mon you funky lesbians, let your love lead the way!”

Aang turned towards Chong. “I actually wouldn’t mind a map.” Ty Lee nodded in agreement.

\---

“When I was little, the Fire Nation raided our farming village...all the men were taken...I haven’t seen my father since then.” Song dipped her head in sadness.

Sokka, who had been stuffing himself with roast duck, decided to chime in. 

“Yeah, the Fire Nation took me too as a kid.”

Zuko and Iroh turned and stared at Sokka. Was he trying to blow their cover? What was he thinking?

Sokka immediately realized what he’d said and began to cough. He needed to backpedal, and quickly. Before they started asking follow up questions.

“That is, uh, my tribe ended up rescuing me. They still ended up displacing me and a lot of members of my tribe though.”

Zuko’s mind had begun to race upon hearing Song’s story. He couldn’t help but think of Ozai.

“I haven’t seen my father in many years.”

“Is he fighting in the war?”

Zuko hesitated. He didn’t want to lie, but what other choice did he have?

“Yeah.”

\---

“Hey, can you guys hear that?” Ty Lee stuck her hand up and stopped in her tracks. A loud wailing noise had begun in the distance, and it sounded like it was getting closer. 

The other members of the group must have heard it too because they stopped and were listening intently. Out of the darkness of the tunnels, a wolf bat came swooping down on them, aiming towards Ty Lee’s head.

“It’s a weird, flying thing!” Chong exclaimed, huddling towards Lily. Ty Lee had begun to screech and wave her hands above her head, trying to scare the damn thing off. She ran straight into Appa, who reared up in response and began to sprint away from her and ricochet off the walls of the tunnel, slamming into one after the next. After Appa collided with a rocky pillar, the entire tunnel began to shake and collapse on top of them. 

“Run!” Aang quickly air bended Ty Lee and the nomads out of the way of the collapse. Katara noticed that Suki was standing right under the pillar, so she dove into her and pushed her out of the way towards Appa.

Sadly, they ended up on the other side of the collapse, separated from Aang and the others.

\---

Song was sitting outside with Zuko. After attempting and failing to touch his scar, she decided to open up to him and show her some scars of her own.

Zuko looked up in astonishment. Had the Fire Nation really done that? He just thought they were spreading the wealth and value of their nation to others, but...were they really destroying people’s lives to this degree?   
He couldn’t handle hearing this. He stood up and went back inside, where Sokka was huddled against the door, waiting to go outside and greet Song.

“Hey…” Sokka gingerly approached her. How could he explain that he had been eavesdropping on their entire conversation? “I-I couldn’t help hearing...I mean, uh, the Fire Nation--”

“I know,” Song let a sad smile pass her lips, “they’ve hurt you too, haven’t they?”

He sat down next to her. 

“Not physically, but...yeah. I mean, I want to go find my mom and dad again, but...I don’t know…” How could he talk about this without giving too much away?

Song reached up and caressed his hair. “Don’t worry. People from the Water Tribes are very kind, and I’m sure they miss you very much.”

Water tribe? How did she know?

He reached up to feel his hair. Of course. 

He hadn’t even realized he had cut it into a wolf tail. He used to sport the look all the time as a kid, he remembered his father cutting his hair and telling him stories about the war. 

“I do miss my tribe.” He meant it. He felt a pang of homesickness whenever he thought of his family. His  _ real  _ family, the one that was shaky in his memory but strong in his heart.

\---

Chong was strumming an upbeat tune as they walked through the tunnels, and it did numbers to improve the mood. Ty Lee was dancing as she walked, and Aang couldn’t help but smile at everyone else's joyous mood. 

“So, Aang, can you believe you’re moving on to earth bending already?” Ty Lee asked as she twirled in front of him. 

“Not really, I mean, it’s all happening so fast…” Truth be told, he was terrified to keep going on his journey. He didn’t know if he had the power to stop the war at all: what if that fear was only solidified when he mastered all four elements? Would he still be as hopeless then?

“Don’t worry...we’ve all got your back!” Ty Lee walked behind Aang, grabbed his arms and began moving them up and down in a dancing motion. This got Aang to laugh, and his fears seemed to melt away into the darkness.

\---

“Kat, this is it! I know it is.” Suki ran forwards towards a door-shaped piece of rock.

“Suki wait--! It’s really dark…” Katara ran after her girlfriend.

By the time Katara caught up, Suki was already pushing on the door. However, even when Katara joined her, they found no luck in getting it to open. Appa charged into the door, giving the two very little time to scurry out of the way. This, thankfully, got it to finally slide open. The two jumped through the doorway and into the room, which turned out to be a tomb

Katara let out a gasp and had to struggle to hold onto her torch. What kind of twisted fate had led them into a tomb?

“Suki, this isn’t the exit! This is probably the center of the mountain!” 

“Well, I know that now, thanks!” 

“Whatever.” Katara’s old feelings of anger towards Suki were resurfacing, and she didn’t like it one bit. She couldn't help but think about all of the times they had argued in the past. What made Katara think they were compatible? They had gone what, two weeks without fighting? Could they maintain it? 

Suki hopped down and walked deeper into the tomb, forcing Katara to follow her. They figured out that the tomb belonged to the two lovers, and read their story.

“Woah…” Katara couldn’t believe that the lovers had created earth bending just to see each other and that they had managed to end a war using the power of grief and love. 

“Love is brightest in the dark…” Suki’s lips were lit up by Katara’s torch, and she couldn’t take her eyes off of them.

Love could be powerful, Katara knew that. And she knew what she felt in her heart at that moment. 

Their troubles seemed so petty compared to the struggles that Oma and Shu had gone through to be with each other. She should just be grateful that she could  _ be  _ with Suki. 

Katara pulled Suki into a deep, passionate kiss. As their lips connected, Katara could feel her legs melt. 

Why had she ever been angry at Suki? It was normal for couples to fight, after all. Katara was so wrapped up in how happy she was in the darkness with Suki that she failed to recognize that she had dropped and stepped on her torch, snuffing it out.

\---

“Okay, I thiiiiink we’re officially lost.” Ty Lee’s group had come to yet another dead end and they were all beginning to lose hope. “Anyone have any ideas on how to get out? And, uh, not die?”

“Wait, wait, did you say ideas? I’ve had this one idea for, like, an hour.” Aang nodded to Chong, encouraging him to go on. “Well, if love is the way to get out, what if we just play a love song?”

Aang shrugged. “I don’t see why not.”

Ty Lee nodded enthusiastically, “maybe that will show the tunnel spirits how devoted to love we are, and then they’ll help us out of here!”

And so, Chong began to strum a tune while he led the way down another dark tunnel. 

_ “Even if you’re lost you can’t,” _

_ “Lose the love because it’s in your heart...” _

\---

It had come time for Iroh, Sokka, and Zuko to leave. Iroh thanked Song’s mom with a bow, who then returned the favor. 

“Junior, Grey, thank these nice people!” 

“Oh--yeah, thanks for the great meal!”

Zuko was a little more reluctant to offer his thanks.

“Thank you” was all he mumbled before he bowed and walked off. 

Song rushed over and gave Sokka a hug. 

“Good luck finding your tribe,” she murmured to him. “And Lee, I know you don’t think there’s any hope left in the world...but there is! The avatar has returned!”

Zuko didn’t bother to respond. He just opened the gate and left, while Iroh and Sokka closely followed.

He stopped when he saw the ostrich horse outside the gate. Nobody was watching them, and they needed a way to get around. Would they really care if it was gone?

“Zuko, what are you doing?” Iroh scolded, seeing that Zuko had already grabbed the reins of the animal. These people just showed you great kindness.”

“Yeah, c’mon. Song and her mom are nice--don’t steal their stuff!”

“Do you want the ride or not?” Iroh and Sokka exchanged a glance before hopping on the ostrich horse behind Zuko and riding away.

\---

“Look, look!” Suki had pulled away and was pointing at the brightly lit crystals on the ceiling. 

“Woah...maybe they’ll lead the way out!”

“There’s only one way to find out…” Suki laughed and grabbed Katara’s hands, pulling her into a twirl as they ran in the direction that the crystals faced.

\---

“What could those things have been trying to get away from?” Chong asked Ty Lee, who had just been assaulted by wolf bats. She suggested that the bats were running from something. “They’re gross and scary, what would mess with them?”

As if on cue, two giant badger moles broke through the walls of the tunnel and towered over the group.

“Aw, cuuute! Hey big guy…” While the rest of the group cowered in fear, Ty Lee rushed over to one of the badger moles and began rubbing under its chin.“You’re just a big softie, aren’t ya?” 

The badger mole immediately flopped onto its back and stuck its arms in the air, as if begging for more scratches. Ty Lee leaned over its belly and pet it even more. 

Aang rushed over to the other badger mole. He was terrified, but Ty Lee’s trick had worked, so he figured he’d give it a shirt. 

“Hey, uh, big guy…” He tentatively reached up past the razor-sharp claws and scratched beneath the animal’s chin. The badger mole headbutted his hand, indicating that it, too, liked the affection. 

“Hey, what if the badger moles like affection?” Chong exclaimed. He wasn't the smartest, but he was trying all the same.

“I think they do!” Aang laughed as the badger mole hoisted him onto its back. Ty Lee’s did the same, and the nomads were able to climb on as well.

\---

Suki and Katara ran into the lit-up hole that led out of the tunnel. They had made it! 

“We’re out!” Katara collapsed on the side of the mountain while Appa flew around, growling happily. 

“That we are.” Suki plopped down and began to stroke Katara’s hair. “And it’s all because you destroyed our torch.”

Katara laughed and pushed Suki away. “Come on, I saved us and you know it!”

The exit to the tunnel suddenly collapsed, and out charged two badger moles; on them were Aang, Ty Lee, and the nomads.

“We made it! Thanks, Mai junior!” Ty Lee hugged her badger mole before hopping off. Aang rushed towards Appa and hugged him. He was worried about his bison's safety, especially since he wasn’t there to calm him down or make sure he was okay.

Now that they had escaped the tunnels, it was time to charge on to Omashu. They bid farewell to their nomad friends and set on their way, unaware of the destruction and devastation that they’d soon find.


	19. Katara the swamp lady

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang gets trapped in a swamp and experience strange visions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> //Hey guys! Sorry if my updates get infrequent, school's starting up on Tuesday. Also, I'm feeling a bit uninspired because I feel like I'm sticking to the plot too much, and I feel like it's too similar to canon atla. If you have any suggestions or recommendations, please let me know!

So much had happened to the group since their escape from the tunnels. They tried to set out and find Bumi, only to discover that he had willingly given up Omashu. After Katara, Suki, and Ty Lee convinced him to move on, Aang decided to leave the city and hope that his friend would be alright. In the brief time that he saw Bumi, he was told to find an earth bending teacher who listened to the earth instead of forcing it to adhere to their will.

That wasn’t all, though. Ty Lee had come into contact with some old friends. While they were sneaking into Omashu, they were wrongfully thought to be a part of the Omashu resistance, and the mayor’s daughter had immediately jumped into action to try and capture them.

The mayor’s daughter just so happened to be Mai, Ty Lee’s old best friend. 

Ty Lee knew Mai had seen her. She had stopped running after them: why else would she have stopped?

Ty Lee had forced the group to stop, explaining that she was once friends with Mai and that she could explain her way out of the situation. However, as soon as they stopped to talk, the floor fell underneath them and they fell into the underground prison where the resistance was plotting. 

\---

“So you really thought you could reason with her?” Katara asked. They were soaring through the sky, away from Omashu and hopefully towards an earth bending master. 

Ty Lee shrugged. “I mean, she was always reasonable when we were kids. Plus she didn’t seem to have changed much, so…”

“Wow, she must’ve been a fun kid…” Suki murmured, earning a playful punch from Katara.

“She was, though! That’s the thing…she always had my back whenever Azula would try and bully me, and she was always honest!” Ty Lee began to smile at the memories. “When she was harsh it hurt, but that just made her compliments all the more sweeter!”

“Wait, who’s Azula?” Aang piped up.

“Oh, you don’t know? She’s Zuko’s younger sister!”

Suki, Katara, and Aang exchanged a shocked look. Horror flooded them all at the thought of another Fire Nation royalty trying to get to them. 

Katara grabbed the reins from Suki and leaned forward. 

“Is there any way to make Appa go faster?”

\---

Sokka, Iroh, and Zuko were living off of virtually nothing. None of them could hold a job--they were too afraid to even ask for one in case they were found out-- and their meals now consisted of whatever they could forage in neighboring woods. 

The small berries and fish weren’t enough. They had finally taken to begging, much to Zuko’s disdain.

“We’re royalty. They should be the ones begging.” Zuko muttered while Iroh held his hat out to the townsfolk.

“They’ll give us money,” Iroh murmured, “if you are nice to them.”

“Yeah, Zuko. It’s not so bad.” Sokka called. He had taken to sharpening other people’s weapons; they paid him upfront and watched him toil away, dragging their weapons against a nearby stone to sharpen it. “At least, not if you have any talent.”

“I HAVE TALENT!” Zuko yelled, earning a chuckle from Sokka.

“Well, then, let’s see it.” A man approached, holding a gold coin. “Gimme some entertainment and I’ll consider giving you this gold piece.”

“We don’t perform,” Zuko retorted.

Iroh stood up and cleared his throat, preparing to sing.

“Not professionally, anyway.”

\---

“Guys, this is gonna sound weird, but...I think the swamp wants me to land in it.”

“Ooo, I love how spiritual your connection with the earth is!” Ty Lee squealed. “Let’s land!”

“Where can we even land?” Suki peered down, trying to see if there was anything other than swamp guck beneath the vines.

“Wait, are you guys really agreeing to this?” Katara sighed. “It feels ominous...I don’t think it’s right to stop.”

“Kat, he’s the avatar. Are you really gonna ignore the avatar?”

“I guess, if it’s what you think is right, Aang…” Katara nodded, “land Appa.”   
“Guys, guys guys! I don’t think we’ll have time to make a smooth landing!” Ty Lee lifted a shaky hand and pointed to the oncoming swirl of dust and air that was rapidly sucking in the surrounding trees.

As it got closer, Suki felt herself being tugged backward; the force became stronger and stronger until she was just barely holding onto Appa. 

“Katara…!” Suki cried, “help!” 

Katara immediately whirled around and rushed towards Suki, grabbing her in a hug right as she let go of Appa. 

However, it didn’t matter by that point. The tornado was already engulfing the rest of the group members, including Appa and Momo, and throwing them into the swamp.

Katara and Suki landed together in each other’s arms. Aang and Ty Lee landed not too far away from them, so the four were able to reconvene quickly. 

“Hey, where’s Appa? And your lemur friend?” Ty Lee looked around.

Aang realized Ty Lee was right, that Appa and Momo were nowhere to be found. He decided to go out and look for them, and left the girls by themselves in the swamp. 

“Suki, hon, you’ve got a leech. On your elbow.”

“Ugh.” Suki tugged at the creature, “they’d be cute if they weren’t so...sucky.”

“I don’t know, I think they’re kinda cute!” Ty Lee picked up the unstuck leech. It immediately attached itself to her arm, and instead of fighting it, Ty Lee just grinned. “I think it likes me!”

Hours later, Aang returned empty-handed. He decided that they all should proceed together to look for Appa and Momo, as it wouldn’t be safe to be alone for too long. The group all agreed and took Ty Lee’s ghostly-pale complexion and the fat leech that was still attached to her as proof.

“Nono--don’t take him away! He’s my friendddd…” Ty Lee mumbled while Suki tried to yank it off.

“I dunno about that, but this one’s stubborn, alright.”

Katara bended some swamp water into ice to cut through the vines, but Aang stopped her.

“Maybe...we shouldn’t harm it. This place feels alive, I don’t...I don’t want to hurt it.”

Katara nodded and let the ice melt. 

“You’re right. Let’s go, you two!” She yelled to Suki and Ty Lee.

“I’m trying, I’m trying! I just--” Suki groaned, letting her fingers slip off the leech. “It’s hopeless. Ty Lee, I hope that thing pops soon.”

“Noooo!! Sokka, she doesn’t mean it. She’s just mad because she doesn’t have a friend.”

“Ty Lee. Please don’t call that leech Sokka.”

“But Katara, he’s my bro--”

“HE’S MY BROTHER TOO! AND HE WAS MINE FIRST!” Katara yelled. 

Suki grabbed Katara’s arm and rubbed her back. 

“C’mon, she knows. She’s just a bit delusional. We need to focus.” Suki whispered to her girlfriend.

After wandering around for a few hours and calling out to Momo and Appa, the gang decided to make camp for the night. Suki begrudgingly went against Aang’s wishes and made a fire using branches from a nearby tree, and Katara, Ty Lee, and Aang huddled around it. 

“NOOO...Sokka!” Ty Lee sobbed as she watched the leech drop from her arm and fall lifelessly into the dirt. “Your spirit will always live in my heart…”

“Well his spirit wouldn’t be the only one here…” Katara murmured, “I feel like I’m being watched.”

Aang nodded, staring off into the distance. Once Suki dropped the final dose of kindling into the fire, a giant flame erupted in front of them, lighting up the swamp just enough for them to see the pairs of golden eyes glaring down at them. 

“Y’know, Kat, you might not be too far off…”

The fire had been reduced to embers when it happened. 

Katara and Suki were curled up together while Ty Lee and Aang slept with their backs against each other. The position helped them from falling too deep into sleep; that way, in case they needed to run, they’d be able to wake up quick enough to warn the others. 

The technique, however, didn’t work this time. Ty Lee awoke with a scream when she found vines wrapping around her legs. Aang shot up, but before he could fight them off, he was dragged away as well. Suki and Katara were also consumed by the vines and pulled away from each other, despite their pleading cries.

Suki whipped out one of her fans with her free hand and tried to slice through the vines that wrapped around her legs and arm. However, she could barely get a few steps in before more vines came from the distance and tangled her again.

Katara was able to water bend some swamp water and slice through the vines, using the water as soon as she spotted another vine approaching. Once she was in the clear, she sprinted away, towards the direction she saw Suki being held. 

Aang was able to flee as well. He air bended a bubble of wind around him, causing the vines to float off of him and allowing an easy escape. While the occasional vine still tried to grab him from time to time, he was able to fight it off with either air or water bending.

Ty Lee also wasn’t able to escape. While she was frightened, she also couldn’t help being excited. 

“H-Hi, friendly swamp monster…?” She said uncertainty as she was being dragged into the unknown. “Please be nice to me…! I haven’t done anything bad, I promise!”

\---

Two disheveled, greasy men approached the giant footprints that Appa had made in the mud. 

“Hey Tho, whaddya think made those?”

“I dunno Doo, but I don’t really care neither.”

“Well, d’you wanna follow ‘em?”

Doo nodded. “They’ll lead us straight to dinner.”

\---

“Hello! Suki? Ty Lee? Aang…?” Katara yelled into the swamp. She saw a man standing up ahead. Though he appeared a bit...hazy. He sported a traditional wolf tail hairstyle, as well as traditional water tribe gear.

“Hello...?what are you doing out here all alone?” When he didn’t answer, Katara decided to cut to the chase. “You haven’t seen my friends, have you?”

The man turned around. He had bright blue eyes, a narrow chin, and a sarcastic smile on his face. Though he looked different in his traditional gear and hair cut, Katara recognized him instantly. 

“Sokka! Is that really you?” Katara began to run after her brother, though every time she felt she was getting close, he just moved further away. Once she finally caught up to him, she realized she was crying. 

“Sokka, you came to save me, didn’t you?” Katara wiped the tears from her face and reached out to give him a hug. “I knew you--”

As soon as she made contact with the figure, however, it dissolved, and Katara quickly felt her hands come in contact not with human skin, but with rough, tree bark.

She gasped in shock and stumbled backwards before the hurt set in. Of course her brother didn’t come to save her. Why would he? He was working with the people who were trying to kill her, to kill her friends.

She had really, truly let herself believe that her brother had given up his life in the Fire Nation to come and help her. And the worst part was that it had almost felt real, like a dream that was only just out of reach.

She kneeled down, her tears causing ripples in the water below her. 

She’d been stupid to think her brother wouldn’t let her die.

\---

Suki had managed to saw her way out of the vines once they had stopped moving. She was booking it through the swamp, slicing vines whenever they stood in her way. She didn’t care about preserving the swamp anymore: the swamp had attacked her and her friends, and she needed to get them back.

“Ty Lee? Kat?” Suki called desperately. Her legs were growing exhausted, and the water below her was making it hard to run. She tripped, and landed face first in the disgusting mud.

She sat up and began to wipe her mouth when a scream escaped her lips. 

The whole swamp seemed to be on fire: flaming vines were falling all around her, but wherever she ran, she seemed to encounter another towering fire. She could hear the screams of women and children, and they seemed oddly familiar...

She couldn’t place their voices now. She didn’t have time.

She blocked her eyes and leaped through a gap in the flames, feeling the heat warm her clothes in the process. She stopped short and slipped when she saw Zuko towering over her, his ponytail waving in the wind.

“How does it feel, Kiyoshi scum?” She could hear his words echoing in her brain. “Your island is mine now.”

“NOOOO…” Suki screamed, covering her ears and burying her head between her legs. She expected the fire to close in on her, just how it almost closed in on her, Katara, and Aang on Kiyoshi island. Only this time, she didn’t have Appa to save her.

The flames never came. When she opened her eyes, Zuko was gone, and there were no burnt remains of vines, no scared townsfolk, no smell of smoke.

She drew in a shaky breath.

“This isn’t real, this isn’t real, this isn’t real…”

\---

Ty Lee had managed to chew her way through the vines. It was a skill she’d picked up while staying in refuge with a traveling circus, a trick she performed often in front of people. She could chew through ropes, wires, and apparently swamp vines.

As soon as she managed to untangle her legs, she also broke into a sprint. After about twenty minutes of running, a bright light caught her eye, so she changed course and began running towards it. She figured it had to be a good omen, right?

Wrong. When she reached the source of the light, she saw a gorgeous, ethereal figure dressed in white clothing, with pristine white clothing and dark skin.

“Yue…?” Ty Lee’s eyes widened as she approached the figure. “Did you come to save me?”

“You didn’t protect me, Ty Lee. You promised.” The figure cupped Ty Lee’s face in her hand, and it felt so,  _ so  _ real…

...until it wasn’t.

Yue vanished when another voice rang out behind Ty Lee.

“Ugh. Did you already forget about me?” 

She whirled around and was faced with Mai, her expression unforgiving as she held her knives.

“Mai! I-I...It’s not what it looks like...I mean, you were with Zuko, right? We weren’t really a thing--”

“Stop your whining. You’re right, you know.” Mai broke into a smile and approached her, knife lifted towards Ty Lee’s heart. “I never really loved you.”

Ty Lee scrambled to run away but ended up falling. When she stood up, Mai was gone. 

\---

Tho and Doo had finally caught up to Appa and Momo. The Bison simply glared at Doo, while Momo surveyed them both.

“C’mon, lil' buddies...we don’t mean no harm…” Doo leaned forward, “...we just trynna eat ya, that’s all…”

Those words sent Appa flying in the opposite direction, with Momo on his back. The swamp people, after arguing amongst themselves for a bit, started to bend the water behind them to propel their boats forward. They started to shoot through the water like motor boats, gaining speed and sight of the bison.

Appa was determined to keep running, but he wasn’t sure how long he could keep up the pace.

\---

Aang was following a strange vision of a young, polished girl. She had her hair tied back, and was wearing an elegant dress. However, similar to Katara’s vision, whenever he got too close, she seemed to bounce away and laugh.

“Who...are you?” Aang hopped to a nearby tree and gazed at the girl. He had never seen anybody like her in his life...what was someone like her doing in the swamp?

He hopped down from the tree and ran towards her at a full sprint. He managed to tackle her down, though when she fell, her yells sounded a lot like Katara’s…

When he looked down, he saw that it was, in fact, Katara that he’d tackled. 

Where had the girl gone?

Aang heaved himself off of his friend and shook his head. It was so confusing in the swamp, he couldn’t understand anything.

“Fire?” Suki slashed through some nearby vines with a shaky hand and rushed towards Aang and Katara. Her shoulders relaxed when she realized that they were fine. She grinned and hugged her girlfriend. “Kat, I thought you were a goner!”

“Hey--! I can survive on my own, you know!” She nestled her head into Suki’s chest. Truthfully, she wasn’t sure if she would survive either.

“I know you didn’t survive! I-I’M SORRY!” Ty Lee came running blindly through the woods, head in hands and tripped over Aang.

“Wh--Oh! Hey guys!” Ty Lee forced a smile and hoped that her tears were covered by all of the watery mud that covered her. “I, uh, totally didn’t think I saw Yue or anything…”

Suki bent down and hugged Ty Lee with one arm. “I thought I saw...well, I was reliving...Kiyoshi island,” she choked out.

Katara nodded and kneeled next to the two, embracing Suki and Ty Lee in a bear hug. “I thought I saw my brother--our...brother…”

“I was chasing some girl...she was wearing something really fancy and kept laughing. I’d never seen her before, though…”

Ty Lee looked up and around. “I think all our visions led us here...I can totally feel some sort of energy coming from that tree!”

Aang looked down at the root he was standing on. 

“It’s the heart of the swamp. I knew it...the swamp wanted me to come here from the very beginning!”

“Well, now that you’ve fulfilled the swamps wishes, I think it’s time we get out of here--”

Suki was cut off by a giant monster emerging from the swamp water. It was a being seemingly entirely made up of swamp vines, and the only thing it had that resembled a head was the wooden mask it wore with a smiley face carved into it. it swung its thick, green arms towards the Suki; it managed to grab her and it began swinging her around rapidly.

Katara came surging forward on a wave of water and shot a long spear of ice through the monster’s arm. While it did release Suki, the arm quickly began to regenerate its vines.

The monster managed to grab Suki again. She tried to fight back with her fans, but they weren’t good enough. Thankfully, Katara was able to push the beast backward using a wave of water. However, the monster still held a firm grip on Suki, and it began to suck her into its vine-y structure, constricting her in the process.

\---

Momo and Appa were still able to maintain their lead on Doo, Tho, and the other swamp people. However, their lead wasn’t big enough. Momo had taken to throwing the group’s supplies at the swamp people to slow them down: shirts, sleeping bags, and food all went flying off of Appa’s back.

As the shirt covered Doo’s face, Tho looked confused.

“What would a lil’ flyin’ monkey need a shirt for?”

Momo and Appa came upon a low hanging tree branch that was too thick for them to crash through. Appa, too tired to fly, opten to slide under it. However, Momo wasn’t able to duck in time, and the force of the tree branch hitting him sent him flying right into Tho’s open sack.

\---

“Help--! I can’t-” Suki’s words were cut off by another vine that tightened around her mouth. 

Aang quickly worked to make a whirlwind of air around the monster, causing its vines to tangle up and rendering it unmovable. Katara then stepped in and sent a blast of icy water towards Suki. The water immediately froze over the vines that entangled her, as well as the ones around her. Katara then water bended the frozen vines, as well as Suki, out of the monster by pushing against them with a hard wave. The frozen block of vines went straight through the beast’s stomach and landed in the swampy water behind it. 

While the monster turned around to grab Suki again, Katara geared up waves of water to slice through the monster’s vine-y exterior. With every slice came a view of what was inside, something unexpected.

“Hey, is that a guy in there?” Suki staggered to her feet and pointed. 

Katara was able to slice the top half of the vines off of the monster, along with the face mask. Before the monster could recover, Aang swooped in with a gust of wind to disperse the vines and leave the man exposed. 

“Who are you? Why’d you try and kill me?” Suki shouted. 

“I try and protect the swamp from those who try and hurt it, an’ I saw you choppin’ the trees there with your fancy fans.”

“Well, we needed to make a fire, but I see your point.”

“So, were you the one calling to us?” Aang asked.

“Calling? No, the swamp does all the calling on its own.” The man chuckled and stood up before extending his hand. “Come with me.”

After learning from the man, Huu, about how everything in the swamp is connected, including the people, Aang and his friends decided to part ways to try and find Appa and Momo. Before leaving, though, Aang decided to try and locate furry friends by touching one of the tree roots and channeling their energies. He then saw a vision of Appa being captured in a net, and he knew exactly where to find them.

They set off through the swamp water, Katara bending it so that they sped through on a wave. As they passed through the greenery, voices started to echo around them.

“Oh no, is this another vision?” Ty Lee whimpered.

“No, I think it’s who we’re looking for…” Suki readied her weapon as the swamp people came into vision, as well as a tangled up Appa and a bagged Momo.

The group’s wave smashed right through one of the swamp people’s canoes, and Aang quickly jumped off of it and sent a wave of air towards Tho, causing him to fly backward and leave Momo behind.

As soon as Tho’s grip on the bag released, Momo flew out, and the other swamp people started to panic. They tried to bend water towards the group, but Katara was able to keep it from hitting them.

“Hey, you’re a water bender! That means we’re kin!” One of the benders piped up, and immediately dropped his stance.

Katara cringed, and Suki doubled over laughing.

“Oh, man...Katara the swamp lady…” She snickered to herself. “Kat, hon, I’m breaking up with you.”

“Oh, be quiet. Uh, if we’re kin, does that mean you’ll release Appa?” She asked.

The swamp people looked at each other and nodded.

“Why sure, just come ‘n join us for a nice meal after he free. We got some possum chicken, you don’t wanna miss that, do ya?”

Katara exchanged confused glances with the other group members.

“Uh...sure?”


End file.
